Justice League
by The Night Lord
Summary: After thirty years, the Justice League makes a return in the form of the new generation, including Conner Kent, Helena Wayne and Kyle Rayner. As they wonder about the need for a new team, as well as having to work together, a threat starts rising, one that not even their strongest can defeat. Midquel to The Dark Knight Legacy and Under the Red Hood, featuring Helena Wayne.
1. Five Years Earlier

AN: This is the sequel to The Dark Knight Legacy and Under the Red Hood, which if you haven't read, are about the Huntress, so they would be recommended to read first and since this is a follow-up to those two stories, there might be a bit of a focus more on Helena. Also, while this is set within the Dark Knight Trilogy world, characters like Superman and Green Lantern do exist. Also, this story contains the character of Lara Kent, best known as the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman, for those who thought this might involve Clois. It won't, and on that note, this will focus on the next generation and not so much on the original Justice League.

-X-

_Five years ago…_

_Metropolis…_

Arnold Wesker quivered in the dark alley, his fearful eyes gazing over the rooftops for any signs of his pursuer. A short, stout middle-age man of a timid and frail appearance, he had once been an inmate of Gotham City's Blackgate Penitentiary for his role in a barroom brawl. There, Wesker came across a ventriloquist dummy called Scarface, named after the famed Al Pacino character and even adorned in classic mobster apparel. Due to his suffering of multiple-personality disorder, Wesker believed the puppet belonged to him and stole him after murdering its creator, then proceeded to use him to escape Blackgate and embark on a crime spree. This led Wesker to attempt take control of the diminishing Mob, wishing to take over the city as retaliation for his poor, disturbed childhood, having always been mocked and laughed at while growing up. Unfortunately, his ambitious plan for power were derailed when he found himself in the crosshairs of Gotham's protector, the Huntress, and Wesker was forced to flee the city before she or the police could get to him. While he was successful in evading the police, Wesker was unable to shake the Huntress, who had followed him to Metropolis and was currently living up to her namesake, hunting him across the streets and through the dark alleys, her presence instilling him with fear.

"Why are we still running?" Scarface demanded, "We should stand our ground and shoot the gitch when she shows up. She can't dodge a gullet or five. We can take her."

"You're right," Wesker admitted, "We'll let her come to us-"

"-And then we glast her! I told you that you need me and I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yes, yes, you were. We take care of the Huntress and Gotham is ours."

"That's right, Wesker. Now, cock this for me."

Wesker cocked the 1920's gangster-style Tommy gun for his puppet and stood against the wall of the alley, waiting for the Huntress to show up. Sweat dripped down his neck from fear and nerves, as there was a flash of shadow from above and Scarface fired a few rounds in response. Another swoop of a cape and again, the dummy responded, smoke issuing from the barrel of the Tommy gun as Wesker tried to keep his breathing under control and heart rate down. He needed to end the Huntress permanently and he couldn't do that if his nerves were frayed to the edge. Scarface was relying on him as back-up and he couldn't let him down-

An arrow stabbed into the wall above Wesker's left shoulder and he shrieked in surprise, as Scarface unleashed the remainder of his magazine, shooting wildly at the rooftops until the gun clicked and a shadow dropped down across from the pair.

"Got a puppet to carry out your plans or is it the other way around?" the Huntress asked, stepping into sight, her crossbow aimed at Wesker, "It's kinda adorable in a really twisted way. I'll make sure that you two can have a jail cell together."

"You can't arrest me," Wesker said, trying to sound tough and authoritative, but coming off as weak and simpering, "You don't have the authority!"

"No, but I can beat you unconscious and haul your ass back to Gotham, where the D.A. has the authority to put you in jail. Give up, Wesker, you're not gonna win here-"

"Hey, sweet cheeks!" Scarface interrupted, "As pretty as you are, we ain't going anywhere with you, got it? So leave now before I send you to swim with the fishes."

"Oh, it talks too," the Huntress mocked, "How cute. Still going in the fireplace."

"You think I'm joking, sweetheart?"

"Sorry, but you're really not scary. And I don't appreciate being called sweetheart, especially by a wooden dummy in a Mob suit who takes ideas from poorly written gangster films."

While the Huntress and Scarface had been trading quips, Wesker had been slowly reaching for the handgun tucked into the back of his pants and once his hand curled around it, he whipped it out and fired off three shot at the Huntress. The bullets would've struck the crime-fighter if someone hadn't appeared in front of her, letting the bullets bounce off his chest harmlessly as if they were made of foam. Wesker's jaw dropped in shock, as there was a blast of heat and Scarface's severed head fell to the ground, followed by Wesker dropping to his knees, crying in agony over his dispatched puppet, as the Huntress' saviour faced her.

"Hi, I'm Superman," Kon-El greeted, extending his hand.

Her response was to shove her crossbow into his face, cautious suspicions overriding her gratitude. She had heard rumours of a superhero operating in Metropolis and wielding powers similar to that of a god, but she had dispelled the rumours, believing them to be merely stories, since no-one like that could even exist. There was no such thing as superhumans, much like ghosts, vampires and other such beings of fiction, but now here she was, being presented with the truth and she felt she had every right to be cautious. The man had just stopped three bullets with his own chest and emitted heat lasers from his very eyes and if the stories about his strength were true, Helena knew she had to avoid a direct battle.

"Not exactly the thanks I was expecting, but then again, I've had worse," Superman continued, "So, how about we lower the crossbow and we act like civilised people."

"This can't be real," the Huntress said, refusing to lower her weapon, "You can't be real. There are simply no such thing as you. It's not possible!"

"Improbable, not impossible. And yet, here we are. I know you're sceptical, Huntress, and you have every right to be, but we're fighting for the same cause. This may sound funny, but you can trust me. I'm not the bad guy here."

"Says you!" Wesker cried through his tears of distress, "You murdered-"

The Huntress quickly placed a heavily-padded arrow into her crossbow and fired at Wesker, hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious, then turned the crossbow back to Superman, who had an amused look on his face.

"Say I believe you, that we're both on the same side," the Huntress said, "How can I really trust you? A person like you is only real in science-fiction and from what I've heard about your powers…well, can you understand a girl for being cautious about a guy like you?"

"Trust me; I'm the least of your worries. There is a whole universe out there that you have no idea about what it contains. Consider me one of the few good things. Now, can we lower the crossbow or do you still feel comfortable holding it to my face, even though I can dodge it."

The Huntress lowered her crossbow until it was levelled at his groin and he chuckled slightly.

"We're really going to have to work on your trust issues," Superman said, "Why don't we go somewhere, without weapons or costumes, and we can talk this out properly."

"What makes you think I'm going to reveal my true identity to you?" the Huntress asked.

"Because I'm going to reveal mine to you. My real name is Conner Kent and you are?"

The Huntress wondered if she should do such a thing and trust this superhuman with her true identity, but figured that since he just revealed his, she could cut him some slack and with a sigh, she tucked the crossbow away, before slowly removing her mask.

"I'm Helena Wayne. Nice to meet you, Conner," she said, extending her hand.

He smiled and took her hand in a firm shake, careful not to crush her, "The pleasure is mine."

-X-

_Now…_

"YEEEE-HAWWWWWWW!"

The alien known as Lobo whooped as he blasted past Saturn on his motorcycle, his bulldog companion Dawg sitting on the back, tongue lolling out of his mouth as they shot towards Jupiter. The last survivor of the planet Czarnia, Lobo was well known as one of the most hated and feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, owing to his rude, crude and violent personality, always playing by his own rules. At seven and a half feet tall, he was a heavily-muscled humanoid with stark white skin and piercing red eyes, his hair thick, messy and black. His outfit resembled that of a biker, consisting of a black sleeveless leather jacket, black pants, biker gloves and heavy boots with deadly, razor-sharp spikes on the soles, his bare chest shown to intimidate his victims. Not only was he a deadly, brutish fighter, but he was exceptionally skilled in numerous weapons, employing the most dangerous ones for his job and even had his motorcycle outfitted to serve as a deterrent to anyone who tried to take him on. Not that anyone was foolish enough to take him on…except for a certain intergalactic police force…

And speaking of which…

The green beam of light narrowly missed Lobo and he looked over his shoulder with a snarl, drawing a large weapon that resembled a handheld rocket launcher and fired at Green Lantern. Erecting a shield that deflected the energy rocket, Kyle Rayner created a construct in the form of a giant Chinese dragon, which looked like it had been sketched to life and with a roar, the dragon flew after Lobo. Dawg barked and Lobo spun his motorcycle around, then reversed the thrusters and began flying backwards, as twin chain guns popped out from the side of the motorcycle. As the dragon came closer, Lobo fired, hammering the construct with laser-like bullets until the construct shattered before it could clamp its jaws over him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Green Lantern!" Lobo shouted.

"Of course."

Dawg barked again, but this time, Lobo was too late to react and his motorcycle slammed into the asteroid-like construct, flipping over and over through space until he righted himself and blasted past Mars, drawing out a giant length of chain. Flying backwards once more, Lobo whipped the chain around his head like he was a cowboy, then flew at Green Lantern.

"Play time's over, boy!"

"So, you like to play with chains? I can do that too," Green Lantern said.

Chains of green light shot out from his ring, heading straight for Lobo in the form of a giant web, then dropped it down upon the bounty hunter when he attempted to fly under them. Refusing to be deterred, Lobo ignited the large thrusters and blasted at Green Lantern at astonishing speeds, wrapping his own chain around Kyle's throat, causing the constructs to disappear and with a joyful howl, Lobo resumed his original flight towards Earth, towing Green Lantern behind him.

-X-

AN: So, what do you think?


	2. Gathering in Gotham

AN: Thanks for the reviews guy. Just to clarify, Kyle Rayner is the current Green Lantern and he was trained by Hal Jordan.

-X-

_Gotham City._

Bullets were fired as the Red Hood Gang tried to make their escape after having just robbed Gotham National and were now trying to elude the police, trading gunfire as they raced down the streets. One of the gangsters leaned out the window with a shotgun and fired, the bullets designed to shred the tear-resistant tyres and the police cruiser spun out of control, skidding towards a footpath and scattering the pedestrians as they tried to flee the oncoming vehicle.

"Oh crap," the gangster said.

"What?" the leader demanded, "What is it?"

"The Huntress."

The Batpod whirred as the Huntress weaved past the police, speeding closer to the gang as they shot through a red light. Since it was daylight, they hadn't expected the Huntress to come to the polices' aid, yet here she was and they were worried, given the advanced firepower of the Batpod and her willingness to use said firepower to their full extent.

"Well don't just sit there. Shoot her!" the leader commanded.

They leaned out the windows, shooting at civilians' cars in order to try and put the Huntress off, but she weaved around them, firing the Batpod's miniguns. Bullets peppered the back of the gang's car, threatening to disrupt their run, as they returned fire, striking the armguards and forcing the Huntress to fall back. As a deterrent, she fired the cannons, narrowly missing the car, but it had its intent, scaring the driver and knocking the shooters about, allowing her to catch up onto them. However, before she could put them out of commission, there was a streak of fire in the clear sky and something struck the road, creating an explosion that flipped the gang's car several times, along with anyone else nearby and the Huntress slammed on the brakes, spinning the wheels in order to stop herself from hitting the crater. The fire streak shot overhead, followed by a large green light and the Huntress spun the Batpod around, firing off in their direction. In the skies above Gotham, Green Lantern unleashed a giant hand construct from his ring, seizing hold of Lobo's motorcycle, the sudden stop pitching the alien and his dog off the bike and they fell through the air, crashing into the road and scattering scared civilians. Settling the motorcycle aside, Green Lantern descended towards the road with his arms crossed over his chest, while Lobo got up with a groan, unfazed and unmarked from the high fall, as Dawg snarled at Green Lantern.

"Lobo, you're under arrest."

"Buzz off, ya little flashlight wanker. I ain't got time for you," Lobo snarled, "You're not my target, but I will happily kill you for free."

"Sorry, that's not how it works around here."

Whipping out a large handgun-like weapon, Lobo fired off a purple beam of energy that Green Lantern neatly dodged, as he then put his ring to the ground, creating a thin beam of light that lunged up in the form of a tiger. Lobo shot at the light construct, as Dawg barked and charged at Green Lantern, lunging for him, only to meet a large shield that he bounced off. A cage then settled around Dawg, trapping him.

"Sit, stay, don't bark," Green Lantern told him, before turning back to Lobo.

The alien had destroyed the tiger construct, drawing a large weapon that appeared similar to a chain gun. With a mad laugh, Lobo unleashed the weapon at Green Lantern, as he put up a protective barrier to deflect the bullets, forcing the barrier towards the bounty hunter. Building up the strength in the barrier, Green Lantern fired it at Lobo, crushing him against a building wall. Chains then appeared, wrapping around Lobo, as he fired his handgun again, hitting Green Lantern in the chest and breaking the constructs. Pleased with himself, Lobo started for him, but cannon fire suddenly blasted through his chest, dropping him, as the Batpod pulled up beside Green Lantern and the Huntress got off.

"Oh, so you must be the Huntress," Green Lantern groaned, slowly getting up.

"And you'd be one of the Green Lantern Corps that I've heard about," the Huntress said, "Mind telling me why you're having a knock-down, drag-out fight in the middle of my city?"

"I'll tell you after I've dealt with this guy."

"What do you mean, deal with him? He's down."

Lobo groaned and got to his feet, the wounds in his chest healing as he grinned.

"Briefly down, never out. And hello to you, beautiful. I like the suit. Very sexy. And nice bike too. Wanna go for a ride on mine? Trust me, you'll love it."

"Okay, so he's an alien," the Huntress said, "And a pig. Wonderful. How do we put him down?"

"We beat him into submission," Green Lantern replied, putting up a shield around them to deflect Lobo's next gunfire, "But it's not going to be easy."

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Crossbow arms flipped out from the Huntress' right gauntlet and she fired a single arrow that struck Lobo in the shoulder and he snarled, as Green Lantern created a huge, nine-barrelled turret and fired rockets from them, hammering Lobo and creating an explosion, which the bounty hunter survived with a wearied sigh. Cocking the triple-barrelled shotgun, he fired at the pair, making them dive out of the way as a small take-out shop was destroyed in the blast. Green Lantern created three floating swords that impaled Lobo all at once, however, they barely slowed him down and Green Lantern was forced to erect yet another shield to deflect a shotgun blast that instead knocked him through the sky. Meanwhile, the Huntress snapped out her quarterstaff and moved for Lobo, striking him across the face, but he simply leered at her and she struck him again. A third strike resulted in Lobo catching the staff and booting the Huntress in the stomach, dropping her to the ground. She gasped for air, despite her protective armour, as Lobo stood over her with an insane grin.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, girlie. Shall we dance?"

Something hit him from the side and he went flying, sliding along his face on the road, as the Huntress looked up at the newcomers, just as Green Lantern joined her side.

"I don't think she's interested, Lobo," Superman grinned, as Wonder Woman unfurled her electrified whip, "However, I think my cousin here will take you up on that offer."

"Why would I want to tangle with Wonder Woman when you're my target?" Lobo sneered.

"Oh, this could get interesting," the Huntress said.

-X-

_Fifteen minutes earlier, in Metropolis…_

"I'm Lara Kent, signing off on Planet Global Morning News."

The young and beautiful blonde anchor-woman flashed the camera a winning smile, as a fireball streaked through the window behind her, attracting the gasps and cries of the crew. Lara Kent looked out at the skies, seeing a green streak of light chasing after the fireball and she knew that whatever was going on, a Green Lantern was involved and they were playing on her turf. Whoever had brought the Green Lantern to Metropolis was going to be in for a world of hurt, as she excused herself and made her out of the building, although she was stopped along the way by several people wanting to talk to her. Brushing them off as politely as she could, Lara reached the streets and hurried for the nearest alley, where she used her X-ray vision to make sure the coast was clear, then removed her glasses and suit, although she left her hair up in her usual ponytail. Underneath, she wore a white singlet that had 'WW' on the front, as nano-technology grew a red protective bodice with the Wonder Woman symbol in silver along the top of the chest, along with her navy-blue pants and red knee-high boots, with a 'WW' silver band appearing around her left upper arm, a silver tiara with a red star appearing on her forehead and red forearm sleeves that were covered with silver gauntlets, with the House of El symbol appearing on the back of her hand armour. With a lasso on her hip, Lara shot up into the air, drawing the attention of onlookers, especially when someone else joined her in the sky.

"I'm assuming you're after Green Lantern and the alien?" Superman queried.

"No, I just like flying around in my costume," Wonder Woman said sarcastically, "You know that it's a little unnecessary for you to come along, Conner. I can handle this."

"How about we both handle this quickly so that less people get hurt, okay?"

Lara rolled her eyes, "Fine. Let's go already."

She turned and blasted across the sky, using her telescopic vision to see Green Lantern following the alien towards Gotham City. The last thing she wanted to do was have to go to that city. She had only been there a few times for very brief moments and didn't like it very much, seeing Metropolis as the superior city. Then there was the fact that she wasn't overly fond of Gotham's protectors, like the Huntress and Batman, seeing them as weak fools. Meanwhile, as he chased Lobo across the sky, Green Lantern decided to call up a friend, knowing that while he could handle the bounty hunter, it was better if he had some help so that less harm and destruction would be caused.

"Kyle, how's it going?" Bart Allen answered.

"Yeah, great, chasing an alien and I could appreciate the help. Normally, I'd handle this myself, but it's Lobo and you know how he is with his unpredictability."

"Only from what you've told me."

"Well, the quicker we can wrap this up, the less damage that's caused."

"Sure, just give me a second. I'm a little busy. Where are you?"

"I'm gonna put him down in Gotham. See you there."

Hanging up, Green Lantern ensnared Lobo's motorcycle with a giant hand construct, pitching him and his dog onto the streets of Gotham below. Five minutes later, he was standing beside the Huntress, watching as Superman fly at Lobo and crack him across the jaw with a powerful punch, knocking the bounty hunter off his feet. Then, Wonder Woman wrapped her electrified lasso around Lobo's neck, but he grabbed onto it, ignoring the shocks charging through him and hurled her through the air, as Bart showed up in his Flash costume.

"I miss anything?" he asked.

"Who are you?" the Huntress demanded, "And where did you come from?"

"Name's Flash and I'm from Central City," Bart replied, extending his hand, "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you before. What's your name, sweetheart?"

The Huntress gave him a distasteful look and Flash chuckled weakly as he lowered his hand.

"We'll worry about introductions later," Green Lantern said, "Let's end this fight."

"I second that idea," the Huntress said, as they headed into battle.

-X-


	3. The Watchtower

The Huntress reloaded her crossbow-gauntlet and hurried into the fight, shooting Lobo in the chest, as Superman struck him again. Green Lantern created an anthropomorphic panda in kung fu clothing and wielding a bo staff, appearing as an illustration that had literally leapt off paper and come to life. Flash raced in and landed several lightning-fast blows, using his speed to disorientate Lobo and hold him in a half-nelson, as the panda then struck the bounty hunter. He snarled and kicked the construct away, then dropped and threw Flash over his shoulder, as Wonder Woman flew in with a kick to his chest. Lobo slowly got up, drawing a handgun, shooting at Flash who was able to dodge every single shot with a cocky smirk, allowing Superman grab Lobo's arm and snatch the weapon away, then punch the bounty hunter in the face. Still refusing to go down, Lobo punched Superman in the groin, the blow stunning him and he landed another blow, this time to Superman's jaw, then used the triple-shotgun to destroy Green Lantern's construct, before catching the small arrow in mid-air.

"You think this could really hurt me?" Lobo sneered at the Huntress.

A larger arrow suddenly struck him in the shoulder, injecting his body with powerful tranquilisers and he turned around to face the newcomer, who shot him again with another arrow. Gnashing his teeth, Lobo reached for a weapon and found that he was empty, receiving five arrows to the chest in the space of three seconds, as Superman and Wonder Woman struck at the same time, their powerful blows combining to knock Lobo out cold, as the Huntress looked at the newcomer. He was about five foot eleven and nearly two hundred pounds, evidence of his heavy training regime. Sandy-blond haired, he wore a red armoured vest and red leather pants, his body adorned with numerous throwing daggers and a quiver across his back, as he lowered his recurve bow with a smirk.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

"I'm the guy who just saved your asses. But you can call me Arsenal."

"Well, I appreciate the help, guys, but I've got it from here," Green Lantern said, striding forth, "Lobo has much to answer for."

"Does that include the destruction of my city?" Huntress asked, "Or is it more to do with what he's done out in space."

"He said that I was his target," Superman said, "I want to know who hired him and why."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," Green Lantern said.

"Perhaps we can hold him prisoner here and ask him," the Huntress suggested.

Wonder Woman sneered, "Yeah, like your human prisons can hold him. Or your loony bin."

"You've got a better idea?"

"Okay, I'm feeling a bit of tension here," Flash said.

"Before we start fighting amongst ourselves, I have a suggestion," Superman cut in, "We take him to the Watchtower."

"The old Justice League headquarters?" Green Lantern questioned, "Why? It hasn't been used in years."

"Until recently. I've got a friend up there bringing it back online. It has the facilities to hold someone like Lobo."

"And you're bringing it back online because why?" Wonder Woman questioned him.

"You'll find out," was Superman's only reply.

"Alright, let's go," the Huntress said, "Green Lantern, I understand that your ring can create anything you imagine. If it's not too much, can you transport us to the Watchtower?"

"That's easy," Green Lantern said, raising his ring.

As if there was an omnipresent being with an invisible pen, a ship was being drawn before them, sketched to life in the trademark green energy. Helena stood amazed as she watched the ship taking shape, unable to believe that such a powerful object could exist. Then, she saw what type of ship Green Lantern was creating and gave him a quizzical look.

"What? I like Star Wars," Green Lantern shrugged.

Arsenal looked uneasy, "You mean to tell me that this _drawing_ can take us into space? Safely? Without any of us dying?"

"Superman and I will be fine," Wonder Woman said, "Doubt it for the rest of you."

"If you're unsure, you can stay here," Flash told Arsenal.

Superman hauled the unconscious Lobo onto his shoulders, while Wonder Woman reluctantly retrieved Dawg, still within the green energy cage and they stepped aboard the Naboo royal star skiff, with Arsenal entering the ship uneasily and the Huntress looked fascinated by the construct. It had replicated everything perfectly that she could remember from the movie version of the ship and she was impressed with Green Lantern's skill.

"Hold on," Green Lantern said from the pilot's seat, "This is gonna get bumpy."

The Naboo star skiff began to rise up from the road, amazing onlookers and arriving police officers alike. Arsenal looked as green as the construct as it jetted through the sky, pushing past the layers of the atmosphere until they had escaped Earth and were now flying through space. The Huntress pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't in a dream, that she was really standing on a spaceship created from hard-light and thought, hurtling through space towards the infamous Watchtower that was now looming into view. When she was younger, Helena had been told the story about the time her father created the Justice League alongside the original Superman and Wonder Woman, coming out of retirement to don the Batsuit for one last time in order to help repel Darkseid's forces. At first she had believed that story to just be a simple story, believing there was no such thing as aliens, but then she changed her mind when she met Conner and learnt it was all true, even if he was only half-alien himself. Now here she was, about to enter the very space station her father had helped build and continue living up to her father's legacy if she was right about what Conner had in mind.

"And here we are at our first stop, the Watchtower," Green Lantern said in a conductor-tone.

The ship pulled into the airlock and once it closed, he dissolved the construct, which also included Dawg's cage and Wonder Woman ended up having to strike the beast at least once to render it unconscious before it could attack her, as Terry McGinnis arrived, wearing a full black suit as Superman hauled the unconscious Lobo onto his shoulders.

"Terry, you're the guy running the Watchtower?" the Huntress asked in surprise.

"Of course," Terry replied, "Superman asked me to get this back up and running. It's been sitting in limbo for the past twenty years. Plus, I had a little extra time on my plate."

"Hey, aren't you the guy who runs Wayne Enterprise?" Flash asked, "Why would Superman get you to operate the Watchtower?"

"Mostly because I've been using Wayne Enterprise technology to upgrade this place and keep it modern," Terry replied, "It's really cool. Wanna go for a tour?"

"I think I better take this guy to the prison first," Superman said, as Lobo started to groan.

"Right this way. To your left is the meeting room, lunch room and sleeping quarters," Terry gave the tour as they made their way towards the dungeon, "I tell you, this place is great. I don't know why the original Justice League decided to abandon it, but I'm thankful that the U.N left it here. Maybe they were hopeful about the Justice League reforming?"

"It's something that I'm working on," Superman said, as Wonder Woman and the Huntress split off in different directions to scope out the headquarters, "There's a place in it for you and the Huntress. I'll have to try and convince my cousin, but I can't speak for the others, even though it is for a great cause."

"Well, I don't think it's a bad idea," Green Lantern said, "Strength in numbers they say. I'm sure we all possess different abilities that we can bring to the table, so to speak."

"Yeah, but when are we going to be needed as a group?" Flash asked, "The idea of the Justice League is to face problems we can't fight alone. Has anyone had that problem yet?"

"You just may never know," Superman said, "Green Lantern is probably the most universally-travelled one here. I'm sure he could tell you about the potential threats out there. I know of quite a few myself."

"And who says they have to be super-powered threats from outer space?" Terry added to the conversation, "There are numerous problems on Earth that could use our help. I may not have special powers like the rest of you, but I'm willing to stand with the Justice League. And here are the prisons. Throw him in, Supes."

Superman tossed Lobo into the cell and closed it, just as the bounty hunter stirred and woke up. Terry locked the cell and the bars hummed to life with a kind of electrical energy, not unlike the type that surrounded Wonder Woman's whip.

"Where the hell am I?" Lobo demanded, "What's going on?"

"You're in the holding cell of the Justice League headquarters," Superman replied, "If you try to escape, these bars are laced with energy that will give you more than a migraine. Now tell me, who hired you to come after me?"

"What does it matter? I'm your prisoner now," Lobo said, "Now, where's my dog?"

"You'll get your dog once you tell us who hired you," Terry said.

As Superman and Terry did the interrogation with Green Lantern and the Flash looking on, Arsenal kept silent, standing a small distance away from the group with his arms crossed over his chest and a conflicted look on his face. There was a reason why he was in Gotham City and helped the group to take down Lobo, before accompanying them to the Watchtower.

"_Each and every one of them pose a threat to Earth," said one of the agents, showing Arsenal the photographs of Superman, Wonder Woman, Huntress, Flash, Batman and Green Lantern, "It'll be worse if they were to reform the Justice League, which is a likely possibility considering they are the successors to the original Justice League."_

"_All that power in one group and kept unchecked," said the other agent, "All we want from you is to join that team and destabilise them. Help us bring them down."_

"_Now why would I want to help you do that?" Arsenal sneered, handcuffed to a chair and forced to endure this 'game', "I see nothing wrong with a Justice League. Hell, we could do with them returning."_

"_You help us, we help you," the first agent replied, "You're a wanted man, Roy Harper. You help us bring down the Justice League, we'll get rid of the arrest warrants you have on your head from three different countries. You can refuse, you are free to do that, but I wouldn't recommend that one. Unless you wish to spend the rest of your life in prison."_

"_So, we do have a deal?" the second agent asked._

"_Not like you're giving me much of a choice," Arsenal replied, "Fine, I'll do it."_

-X-


	4. Revealing Identities

The Huntress stood in the meeting room of the Watchtower, slowly walking around the circular table and chairs that looked like they had seen better days, trying to imagine her father sitting here with the rest of Earth's heroes and discussing the problems they had to face. Her father had only done a few missions for the Justice League, as he didn't want to completely ruin his body before his daughter's second birthday and so he was forced to reluctantly retire for good this time, although John Blake then took his spot as Batman. And now here was Helena, ready to continue the tradition. It was something she felt she could do, something that would greatly benefit Earth, even if she was only human herself and had no special powers. She was willing to fight the good fight and give it her all. But as she thought about it, that was all she could offer the Justice League. The others, apart from Arsenal, had abilities that were useful. She knew what Superman was capable of and to some extent, Wonder Woman as well and she saw what Green Lantern could do with his ring. So really, what place did Helena have with the Justice League? What did she have that the others didn't, apart from fancy toys and detective skills?

Stepping away from the table, the Huntress gazed out the window, looking down at Earth and admiring its majestic beauty. Although she had travelled across the globe, Helena never expected to end up in outer space, looking down at the planet as she contemplated her potential role in the Justice League. With them, she could help dispense justice around the world, not just Gotham City, neutralising threats that they couldn't do on their own. At least, that was the idea, because the Huntress wasn't sure about Wonder Woman if her attitude was anything to go by, but she wasn't going to worry too much about that. That would be Conner's department, as she looked upon the Earth. Damian would be totally jealous when he found out that she had been within the fabled Watchtower their father had told them about. However, thinking about her brother made Helena think about Jesse and sadness instantly overcame her. It had been four years since the Night of the Owls event that had claimed his life and never once was he gone from her thoughts. She felt that she couldn't move on from his death and that the only way she could make life unbearable was to keep dispensing justice as the Huntress. It gave her focus, it gave her purpose, even though it didn't feel the same without Jesse by her side. His final resting place seemed so insignificant compared to the size of the planet, as she thought about it, but although Jesse didn't mean much to the world, he had meant the world to Helena and she was doing all she could to keep her emotions in check.

"Hey," Terry said softly so he didn't startle her and get shot, recognising that she was thinking about her slain boyfriend, "How are you?"

"Yeah, I'm good," the Huntress replied, wishing to avoid another talk about Jesse, "This is so surreal, you know, standing here, looking at the planet and realising just how insignificant we are compared to it."

"I know. It is still quite a beautiful sight to behold. I've been up here for four days and I still haven't gotten over how majestic it is. Lucius Fox was quite the genius."

"So this is where you've been. That explains why you kept it a secret when I asked you where you going for your holidays. How did this all happen anyway?"

"Conner came to me, expressing interest in reviving the Justice League and to do that, we needed to bring the Watchtower back online. This is something we've been working on for the past two months. I know there hasn't been a need for the Justice League for the past thirty years, but that doesn't mean there never will be. The universe is vast, Helena. There are still a lot of things out there that we don't know about, things that could no doubt prove a threat to Earth and therefore require the assistance of the Justice League."

"You really want this to happen, don't you?" the Huntress asked with a small smile.

"I do," Terry admitted, "I may not be much help, but I will do what I can."

At that moment, Superman entered the room, followed by the others and he directed them towards the meeting table, where Terry and the Huntress joined them, the latter taking the seat that had belonged to her father.

"Well, Lobo isn't talking much," Superman announced, "But that's not what I brought you in here for. I want to talk about the Justice League."

"Green Lantern and I will join," Flash said, "We're both down for this."

"As will I," Arsenal said, "That is, if you'll take me. I probably wasn't part of your ideal roster, Supes, but if you want me on the team, I'm here to help."

"I appreciate that, Arsenal," Superman said, "You did help us take down Lobo and for that, I'm granting you a place on the team. Wonder Woman?"

Wonder Woman sighed as she stood up, "I think I'll pass, Superman. You can have your little club up here in space, sitting around being JLA fans. I'll be doing important things, like protecting the world."

"With the way you talk, I would've figured something like that was beneath you," the Huntress said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wonder Woman's eyes flashed red, but Superman threw out his arm to stop her.

"Before we start fighting, I'll just say that I respect your decision, Wonder Woman and I won't force you to join the Justice League. However, I do ask one thing of you and it's something I'm asking of everyone here. If we are to work as a team, then we need to be able to trust each other and for that, I'm asking that we reveal our secret identities. I understand if you don't want to, but I figure that since some of us already know someone else's identity, it wouldn't be so bad if we all knew who we really were."

"For example, I'm Batman," Terry said as casually as if he was talking about sports.

"And my real name is Conner Kent," Superman said, "Yes, I really am that quietly-spoken journalist from the Daily Globe. So, anyone else wants to share?"

There was a shimmer of green light and Kyle Rayner was sitting before them.

"The name's Kyle. I'm an artist. And obviously a Green Lantern. Bart, your turn."

"Thanks for ousting me," Flash said, although he did remove his mask, "I'm Bart."

"I'm Roy Harper," Arsenal announced, however, he left his domino mask in place.

The Huntress caught the looks from Terry and Conner and she sighed, before disabling the trap on her mask and slowly removing it, "I'm Helena Wayne. And as you know, I'm the daughter of Bruce Wayne, the original Batman."

"Does that mean we were meant to be?" Bart asked, "Because we both have fathers who were on the original team. It's a sign."

Helena simply glared at him and he chuckled weakly, before looking away.

Superman looked up at his cousin and she caught his look, realising what he wanted from her and she rolled her eyes, adopting an annoyed stance. She simply didn't want anything to do with the Justice League, seeing no point to its existence given her arrogance about her dual heritage that made her one of the strongest beings on the planet. But with Conner still giving her an expected look, Wonder Woman sighed and relented, deciding that no harm could come from it. And even if it did, at least she could easily rectify the problem.

"I am Lara Kent, daughter of the original Superman and Wonder Woman," she announced.

"Which technically makes us cousins," Conner said, "Since I'm a clone of the original Superman and Lois Lane."

"Wouldn't that make you brother and sister then?" Kyle wondered, "Genetically speaking."

"Kinda, but I've always seen Clark as more of a big brother or an uncle-like figure," Conner replied, "When Lara came along, we figured it be easier to call each other cousins."

"And to cap it off, my father is her godfather," Helena added with a small smile.

"Okay, now that we're done with family bonding time, there are more important things to be done," Lara snapped, "Like fighting crime and protecting the innocent."

She stormed off and a minute later, the others could see her flying back to Earth.

"No offence, Conner, but your cousin is a bit like a loose cannon," Bart said.

"She's just very stubborn," Conner defended, "And perhaps slightly arrogant."

"And she's also right," Helena joined in, "We have jobs to do. If we're serious about the Justice League, we can schedule meetings. Terry can handle that."

"Say what?" Terry protested.

"Kyle, can you take us non space-flyers back to Earth?" Helena continued as if she hadn't heard her business partner, "And no Star Wars spaceships please."

"Don't tell me you're a fan of Star Trek," Kyle cried as they left the meeting room.

"I'm more of a Stargate girl."

-X-

Heels clacked across the black marble floor, but no one paid the visitor any attention until she boomed out a single name with her commanding voice.

"Lex Luthor!" Amanda Waller called, "What is all this?"

Alexander Joseph Luthor II looked up when he heard his name called and he smiled at the elderly special agent who he felt should be in a retirement home, but he had to admire her dedication to removing the meta-humans from the planet. That was probably why they were currently working together on 'Project: Nemesis'. Having borne witness to the meta-human population, as well as the wonders of the universe thanks to the confrontation between Green Lantern, Hector Hammond and Parallax, Waller had spent the past thirty years seeking a way to keep super-powered beings under control. Unfortunately, the last such project Waller had overseen to eradicate meta-humans resulted in the creation of Superboy, now Superman, who ended up turning to the side of good and becoming a general pain in the ass for Luthor. So there was another reason for why they were teaming up for this secret assignment.

"Doctor Waller, how nice of you to come here," Lex smirked, as there came a soft growl from the operating table, "Isn't it magnificent? It's coming along beautifully."

"I hope the programming is up to scratch," Waller said, "The last thing we need is for the creature to break out of our command."

"You underestimate my intelligence. This beast answers to me without hesitation."

"Good. I would hate for you to oversell yourself, Luthor. It led to your father's downfall."

"No need to remind me, Doctor. You'll find that I will do better than him."

"Hm. For your sake, I hope so," Waller said, before walking away.

-X-


	5. Interrogation

AN: IMO, I don't think this is a great chapter. It feels more like a mediocre chapter, idk.

-X-

Jason Todd smirked when he entered the interrogation room and his handcuffs were removed, while Helena and Terry waited for him by the table. After returning from the Watchtower, Helena had continued on with her previous job of dealing with the Red Hood Gang, however, since it had already been done for her by the police, she instead decided to interrogate Jason about the gang, attributing him to their appearance and their crime spree. The police were reluctant to leave Helena and Terry alone with a convicted murderer, but the pair assured the authorities that they would be fine and that they didn't want any witnesses.

"I heard we had quite a number of visitors here in Gotham," Jason said as he sauntered over to the table and sat down across from Helena, "All just to take down one itty bitty alien. So where's the alien now? Did you lock him up in the fabled Watchtower?"

"We'll be asking the questions, Jason," Terry said.

"Like about your involvement with the Red Hood Gang," Helena said, "With a name like that, I've got to think that you've had something to do with them."

"Love your thoughts on the matter, but your accusation is just that. Maybe they were inspired by what I've done and felt the need to honour me. I'm touched, really."

"You can say that you have no connection to them, but we can't take your word for it," Terry said, "There's no reason why a gang would name themselves after you if you've got nothing to do with them."

Jason shrugged carelessly, "That's the truth, Terry, take it or leave it. I don't care. You pulled me out the middle of a very interesting law show. It's an important episode too."

"Well, we'll be hunting down the remainder of the gang and if we find any connection between them and you-" Helena started.

"You'll do what?" Jason interrupted, "I'm already spending the rest of my life in here, so what more can you do to me? You may fund the prison, Helena, but you hold no sway. You may work for the law department in Wayne Enterprises, but remember, the worst you could give me in prison is nothing compared to what I've gone through in life."

He sat back in his chair with a smug grin and Helena knew there was nothing she could do. The best thing she could do now was find the leader of the Red Hood Gang and pummel answers out of him. That was something she was going to have to do later that night as she had work commitments that couldn't be avoided, as well as consider her involvement in the Justice League. It was quite ambitious, bringing together Earth's most powerful protectors into one team. She may not be powerful, but she did have a wealth of technology at her disposal that could prove useful and she felt it was a great idea, that people wishing for hope and justice now had something to look up to and be inspired by. But for now, Helena had to resist the urge to smack the grin right off Jason's face and simply motioned to Terry.

"I'm sure the guards will be quite happy to take you back to your cell," Helena said, "You have a nice day now."

"Watch out for space ships," Jason called after her as she left with Terry.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Terry said as they left Blackgate, "Do you really think he was telling the truth that he has no connection to the gang."

"Probably. Have you postponed that meeting with Lexcorp for tomorrow?" Helena asked.

"I'd done it already because I was still going over a few things at the Watchtower," Terry replied, "And I've already informed Queen Industries of the reschedule."

"That's why I like you."

-X-

"So the Watchtower exists," Damian said, "And you were inside it? At the same table that our father used to sit at with the rest of the League?"

"Yes, Damian, we've been over this already," Helena said slowly as if she was speaking to a child, which Damian was anything but. Sometimes. "Three times in fact."

Damian slowly nodded, then turned to John, "I want to be part of the League."

"It's a very prestigious team," John said, "They don't just let anyone join. The League only selects the best and the most trust-worthy. Not that I'm saying you're not trust-worthy, Damian, but it's not very easy getting onto the team. I was quite surprised myself when I was asked to join, considering my lack of experience compared to your father."

Although John and Helena had a falling out four years ago due to him keeping the story of Jason a secret from her, a falling out that had seen John banished from the cave, the pair had reconciled their differences and he was back into her good graces, although she kept a wary eye on him from then on. And right now, he was the only one who could inform her on how exactly the Justice League worked, which also had to take into account politics and the public eye. Just because they were a collection of the greatest powers on Earth didn't mean they had a right to do whatever they wanted, even in their quest to provide justice. Even though the world had greatly changed over the years, mostly in technology, it was still pretty much the same in terms of war and politics and Helena knew that they would have to tread carefully to maintain the League's public image. As she thought about it, it sounded familiar to when the original Justice League was first formed and they had to do the same thing, judging from what her father had told her. However, while the public had gotten used to the original Justice League, they had also gotten used to the team not being around for the past thirty years and for them to suddenly appear again would spark new debate. Although, judging from what Helena had heard following the battle against Lobo, people were wondering if the Justice League were making a comeback, with some expressing desire for the team to stay, so that had to mean something good, right?

"Well, we'll see how it all turns out," Helena said, getting up from the couch, "Right now; I think we're just seeing if it is something we can do or if there even is a need for us to operate together. Conner has a better idea of what's going on."

"I'm just curious as to why he finds a need for the Justice League to return," John said, "The team hasn't been around for nearly thirty years. Why now?"

"I don't think we should be questioning Conner's intentions," Damian said, "He's not the type to have ulterior motives that would be bad for everyone else. He's not that guy."

Helena nodded, agreeing with her brother, although she was withholding a small secret that was to do with both Conner and Lara, and that only Terry knew about it, even though he didn't entirely agree with her on it.

-X-

Roy returned to his small apartment in Star City, his mind weighed down with thoughts about the Justice League and Task Force X, as he opened the door and immediately drew a throwing dagger from his thigh belt, detecting someone in the room. The fact that it was Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor didn't make him put the knife away.

"So, I hear there was an alien in Gotham today," Lex said, keeping his back turned to Roy, staring out the small kitchen window, "And that it brought together a group of superheroes. I also heard this alien was taken away by the group, presumably to the Watchtower. So tell me, Harper, what is this group planning? Are they the new Justice League?"

"I guess you could say that," Roy answered, "I just went along for the ride."

"Your freedom hinges on the Justice League and your involvement with them," Waller said, her voice authoritative and commanding despite her age, "So I suggest you tell us if they are forming and if you are a member."

Roy ground his teeth together, hating that he had to answer to these people. He wished there was another way to clear his name, but this was really his only chance.

"Yes, the Justice League is forming, and yes, I am a member. There, happy?"

Lex's smile could be seen in the reflection, "Very."

"Good. You know what this means, Luthor," Waller said and when he nodded, she turned back to Roy, "You will continue to be a part of the Justice League until further notice. Must I remind you what will happen to you if you try to tell your 'friends' about us?"

"Come to think of it, what could you guys really do to, say, Superman?" Roy challenged.

"Plenty, don't you worry about that," Lex said, "I'd be more worried about yourself, so if you try anything, Harper, we'll be ready for you and it won't be pretty."

"Now, if you'll excuse us," Waller said, getting up from the couch, "Until we speak again, Harper. Have a nice night now."

Lex gave Roy a smirk and a clap on the shoulder as he followed Waller out the door, leaving the young archer with his troubled thoughts.

-X-

Lobo was keeping quiet in his cell, leaving Green Lantern to relax in the meeting room of the Watchtower, overlooking the Earth. Since Lobo couldn't be left unguarded, Green Lantern had volunteered to watch over him, knowing what the bounty hunter was capable of. Also, Kyle didn't have much else to do, even with his Corps duty. Staring at his home planet, he felt inspired to do some sketching and using his ring, creating a large canvas before him. With a paintbrush construct, Kyle set about with his artwork, bringing an image to life. That was until his ring started flashing and the constructs immediately disappeared, the mask appearing on Kyle's face as he got to his feet, wondering where the danger was coming from. The front window suddenly shattered, the shower of glass spilling out into space and Green Lantern flew out of the Watchtower, looking for the threat, when a stream of corrosive, rage-infused blood narrowly missed him and he whirled around.

"Time for you to die now, Green Lantern," Atrocitus snarled.

"Oh, hi there," Kyle said.

-X-


	6. Reaching A Deal

A stream of corrosive blood flew past and Green Lantern narrowly avoided it, firing off a light beam that was met with a blood stream, its acidic effects eating through the beam until Green Lantern was forced to avoid it and Atrocitus came flying at him, claws flashing. Responding with a giant, spiked bat, Green Lantern caught Atrocitus on the jaw, hurling him through space. The atmosphere above Earth had become a raging battlefield as the two Lanterns fought one another and there was a certain reason why. The Red Lanterns had a nasty habit of recharging their power rings with the blood of their kill and two weeks ago, the Green Lanterns were sent out to try and arrest them. This required at least two Blue Lanterns to help them combat the vicious and bloodthirsty Corps, but the mission had been a success, with the exception of Atrocitus getting away. Now he had finally tracked Kyle down, seeking to get revenge for the imprisonment of his Corps.

Six wickedly dangerous knives were formed from red light and Atrocitus hurled them at Green Lantern, which he countered with a round shield that had a star in the centre, catching the blades as a giant red rock came flying at him. Creating a futuristic plasma cannon, Green Lantern blasted through the rock, before narrowly avoiding Atrocitus' claws, although pain flared through his shoulder and Kyle hissed in pain, clutching at his injury. Creating a bandage construct around the wound, Green Lantern flew away from the blood stream spat at him and created a griffin construct, having it swoop at Atrocitus. Unfortunately, the Red Lantern unleashed a blood stream from his mouth that melted the construct, as Green Lantern struck him with an enormous mallet, sending Atrocitus tumbling head over heels across space. He caught himself with a snarl, claws itching to tear into Green Lantern's flesh once more, but then he felt something, a tingling that he felt whenever someone's rage was bubbling beneath the surface, just waiting to be unleashed, but it wasn't coming from Green Lantern. It was actually coming from Earth and Atrocitus felt the need to seek this rage out and exploit it, perhaps reforming his Red Lantern Corps once more. But first, he had to deal with the Green Lantern before he could make his escape and as Green Lantern came at him with a giant boxing glove construct, Atrocitus created a giant panel of glass and punched it, sending the sharp constructs hurtling towards Green Lantern. He formed a shield to protect himself from the deadly constructs and once the danger was passed, he lowered the shield, seeing that Atrocitus was nowhere in sight. His ring wasn't flashing, which either meant that the danger had passed or Atrocitus had masked his presence, which was possible.

"Huh, that was weird," Green Lantern commented.

Flying down towards the planet after making sure he was out of sight from the Green Lantern, Atrocitus honed in on the subtle rage, noting that it was quite strong, stronger than anything he had ever detected before and thought of awakening this creature's rage had him salivating. Perhaps this being could be a very useful tool to strike back at the Guardians with, as he descended upon a city, his focus on that rage. Coming to a building where the rage was coming from, Atrocitus saw that his ring was flashing and grinned, before destroying a wall with his blood. Alarms went off instantly and armed guards started filling the corridors, but with his single-minded determination and the desire to not let anything stand in his way, Atrocitus literally strode through the guards, bullets bouncing off him harmlessly, at least until he was struck from behind by a powerful laser weapon. Getting up with a snarl, Atrocitus smashed the unfortunate guard into the wall with a clawed hand construct, then spat a stream of blood onto more guards, their screams like music to his ears as they melted into puddles of blood, recharging his ring with each kill. The call of rage grew stronger and Atrocitus knew he was going in the right direction, killing anyone who stood in his way until the call was so strong that it was pounding inside Atrocitus' skull, but he had finally found what he was looking for and it was an absolute beauty. A shark-teeth grin appeared and Atrocitus approached the being, his hand reaching for the spare red power ring he had in times like this, ready to awaken this being's pure rage, when he was suddenly shot from behind. Snarling, Atrocitus whirled around, finding himself surrounded by numerous guards with laser assault rifles, Lex Luthor in his power suit and Amanda Waller herself.

"Leave now or I will slaughter you all," Atrocitus growled, "This creature is calling to me and I will help him."

"No you won't," Lex said, confidently as always, "You'd have to get through us first and I won't be a pushover. Never have, never will be. Now I should tell you that you could fight us, but this armour I'm wearing is strong enough to withstand Superman's strength. Think you're as strong as the Man of Steel?"

Waller was eyeing Atrocitus with curiosity and scrutiny, but she still approached him, unarmed and unafraid. Atrocitus had to admire that.

"You wish to help this creature?" she told him, "Then you will do something for us first before I let you do that."

"Foolish woman. I will kill you and bathe in your blood before I do anything for you," Atrocitus snarled, showing off his razor-sharp teeth. To her credit, she didn't flinch.

"You're a Red Lantern, correct? Now, I'm not exactly up to speed on all the Lantern groups, but something tells me you're not good friends with the Green Lanterns."

Atrocitus gnashed his teeth, "You would do well not to mention them in my presence if you wish to live, human."

"Perhaps we can help each other," Waller continued, ignoring the threat, "If you help us take down the Justice League, which includes one of the Green Lanterns, then you can have access to this creature and if you wish, use him to destroy the rest of the Green Lanterns."

Atrocitus was about to turn down her offer, reasoning that he didn't need the help of some weak human to fight the Green Lanterns, but as he looked at the creature and felt its rage, he knew that it had the power to help him annihilate the Green Lanterns, especially if he could control that amount of rage. Sure, he could just kill everyone in the room and save himself the hassle of working with them, but it was the Earth's Green Lantern who had caused him the most trouble in the past and if these humans were offering some help, why not take it? His prize in the end would be free reign over the creature, so why not exert some patience?

"Can I just point out that if you kill us all here, not including me, then you'll be alerting the Justice League to your presence and they do have the power to stop you," Lex said, "Just keep that one in mind."

"Fine," Atrocitus growled, "What do you wish for me to do?"

Waller smiled.

-X-

"Imagine the corporate power of Wayne Enterprises, Robinson Incorporation, Queen Industries and Lexcorp. We'd be an absolute powerhouse," Lex told the board members, "We would pretty much be the only power in America. With our cutting edge technology and immense influence, I don't understand why this hasn't happened already."

"While it does sound like something that should happen, there is the fact that Lexcorp cannot be trusted," Terry said from his end of the table, "Shady dealings, rumours of genetic experimentation, not to mention your less than stellar past."

"You're willing to throw away this potential deal because of my father?" Lex growled.

"It's not that, Lex," Helena said, "Your personal feud with Superman is very well known and we are supporters of Superman, so we can't be seen doing business with you."

"This is foolishness what you're doing," Lex continued, "Your reasoning is simply not enough for why we shouldn't combine our forces."

"Look, kid, you're doing great and all," Oliver Queen spoke up, "But Lexcorp has never been known for playing nice with others, but I'm sure that if you could us otherwise, there is a possibility we could change our minds. It's kinda hard when you've inherited a business from a guy who publicly fell from grace, but you'll get there."

"Look, we are not dismissing this notion completely," Terry added, "I know it's unfair to judge you because of your father, but Lexcorp still hasn't changed under your control. Perhaps if things did change then I'd consider it. Give it a year and we'll see what happens. Until then, this meeting is over."

Lex was left fuming as everyone gathered their belongings and began filing out of the room. Helena waved farewell to Oliver Queen, an old friend of her father's, as Terry joined her.

"I have what you asked for, although I do think it's really unnecessary," he said.

"You can never be too prepared," Helena said, "My father taught me that. Show me."

Terry led her to the R&D department, using numerous passwords and codes to access the tightly-secured division, as a panel open in the floor and a cage rose up, the doors opening to reveal its contents, Helena and Terry coming to a stop before it.

"As requested, the suit is flexible, much like your usual suit, although it is quite durable, enough to absorb intense heat. It is armoured and after numerous tests, I can assure you that it can withstand a blow from either Superman or Wonder Woman. The helmet is also quite durable, though I don't recommend getting punched in the head too much," Terry said, "The belt is something I scrapped together with items from both this company and your father's company. It can produce a small, invisible, yet powerful barrier around your body that allows you to withstand punishment a normal human can't. "

"Kryptonite?" Helena queried.

"Inbuilt within the ring on the right ring finger. Now, because it's armoured, the suit is a little slower than normal, but not by too much," Terry finished explaining, then sighed, "Are you sure about this, Helena? I don't know why you would have these measures in place."

"Caution," Helena replied, "We live in a world of super-powered aliens and gods. It would do us no good if we aren't prepared for the day our strongest hero becomes our greatest enemy. However, this stays between us, Terry. Not even Damian knows. Let's keep it that way."

"Very well then," Terry sighed.

-X-


	7. Team Work

"What the hell is this?" Jason questioned, "Visit days are every Tuesday. It's Friday."

Amanda Waller gave him a tight smile, "Please, sit down, Jason."

Warily, he joined her at the table, keeping an eye on the two strong bodyguards she had with her and he wished for a gun. He didn't need one to fight two guys like them, knowing he could take them easily if he wanted to, but the feeling of a gun in his hand always made him feel better, to know that he had an advantage. But while he could use this as an opportunity to escape, Jason decided against it, wanting to hear whatever this woman had to say.

"So, who are you and why did you get let out from the nursing home?" Jason asked.

"My name is Amanda Waller. I'm an agent of the government."

"Never seen one your age. Thought they retired you when you hit forty."

"Play nice, Jason. That isn't any way to speak to someone who could get you free."

"What do you want in return?"

She had to admit, he wasn't stupid. "I'm putting together a small team in order to combat the return of the Justice League. I understand you have skills, as well as a hatred for the Huntress."

"You know who I am?" Jason said, "How the hell did you find that out?"

"I have my ways, Jason. My secrets have secrets. Now, I can get you out of here in exchange for your co-operation. You'll be doing your country a great service."

Jason leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and regarded Waller with a scrutinized look.

"See, this is where you've got it all wrong, Mandy-"

"Don't call me Mandy."

"-You think I have some major beef with the Huntress," Jason continued as if he hadn't heard her, "The truth is, I don't. We have a small kind of rivalry, but that's about it. So, the answer's no, creepy lady. I'm not joining your little team. I don't join losers."

"This is your only chance to leave this prison," Waller said, "I am capable of helping you become a free man. When's your parole? After twenty-five years?"

"So? Maybe I like it in here."

"One last chance-"

"What you don't understand, Ms. Antique, is that I don't have a beef with the Huntress. Not a big one anyway. And if I have a plan for dealing with her, it doesn't involve you. Plus, I know the friends she hangs out with and if you want to take them on, go for it. You've got balls, I'll say that. Me, I won't get involved."

Waller fixed Jason with an intense glare, but he picked imaginary lint off his prison suit and ignored her. She rose and motioned to her guards and they went to the door, waiting for her.

"Very well, Jason, I can see you won't change your mind. I thought you'd be useful, but you are really just a coward. I hope you have a nice day."

"Yeah, buzz off," Jason retorted as she left, "Crazy-ass bitch."

He sat there for another minute, losing himself in his thoughts before the prison guards came and escorted him back to his cell.

-X-

The alarms rang and the doors to the Central City National Bank burst open, the two criminals seeking to escape before the authorities arrived so they could enjoy their spoils. Unfortunately, the Flash was waiting for Mirror Master and Ragdoll, a smirk on his face. A highly skilled thief and mercenary, Mirror Master wielded a pair of prototype laser handguns he had stolen from the government defence department and with his accuracy, he could ricochet the lasers off any reflective surfaces to hit his targets from any angle, which made him a truly deadly opponents. His accomplice, Ragdoll, was a triple-jointed contortionist and master thief, as well as a decent fighter. Due to his unique abilities, Ragdoll could fit inside anything that would seem impossible for an ordinary person, an ability that gave him an advantage in a fight and he also had the uncanny ability to stay incredibly still, controlling his body to a point where he could appear absolutely lifeless.

"I always assumed that bank robbing was on Tuesday," the Flash said, "But I like it when the city clowns get creative and surprise me. Still, you two are under arrest."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Mirror Master said, hand reaching for his gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Flash warned, "You'd be unconscious before you even draw it. But I'm being nice. If you surrender, no one has to get knocked unconscious."

"Perhaps we want someone to be unconscious," Mirror Master said, "That someone is you."

He grabbed his gun and the Flash was there, swinging his fist, but to his immense surprise, his fist passed through Mirror Master's head like he wasn't even there. With a smug grin, Mirror Master faded away, leaving both the Flash and Ragdoll surprised.

"Well that's new," Bart muttered.

Seizing the opportunity, Ragdoll struck Flash in the back with a kick, but when he followed up with his fist, the Flash had caught it. Utilizing his contortionist abilities, Ragdoll twisted his body in an unimaginable way to loop himself completely around the Flash's body to try and immobilise him. That was the plan until a laser struck Ragdoll, knocking him off.

"Whoops," Mirror Master chuckled, "I was aiming for the Flash."

This time, there were at least twenty Mirror Masters, all with their guns aimed at the Flash, while he was puzzled at how many there were. He was wondering how it was possible, at least until they all started shooting at him. The Flash's speed was put to the test, dodging every single laser and he sped towards the nearest Mirror Master, swinging his fist. The hologram faded away when its image was disrupted and with this in mind, the Flash blitzed amongst all the holograms, making them disappear with his fists until only one Mirror Master remained, twirling his handguns around his fingers.

"Nifty little trick you've got there," the Flash said, "Let me guess, another government development?"

"Indeed. In order to combat you, I needed something that would provide me with an edge."

"Yeah, well, game's over."

"Is it?" Mirror Master said, still with a smug smirk, "What makes you think I'm even here?"

The hologram faded away, leaving the Flash with an unconscious Ragdoll…until he spotted a flash of light from one of the nearby rooftops, along with a flash of green light and he smirked, racing over to the building as Green Lantern descended with an unconscious Mirror Master locked within a cage construct.

"Is this yours?" Kyle asked.

"I think he actually belongs to the police," Bart replied, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I had a visit from a Red Lantern. And while we did exchange a few words, he then disappeared and I had a feeling he might've come to Earth. It's not like him to just come here for a fight and then run away."

"Wouldn't your ring know where he is?" Flash asked.

Green Lantern shook his head, "It alerts me to danger, but it can't track a Red Lantern. I get this feeling that he's still around, but I don't know why he's laying low. I thought perhaps you could help me find him."

"What happens if I find him before you do?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to alert me," Kyle replied, "Now, shall we put these guys away?"

After depositing the two crooks at the police station, Flash immediately set off, searching the entire city in less than two minutes, before speeding to the nearby Keystone City, where again he didn't have any luck in finding Atrocitus. Green Lantern made his way to Coast City, watching his friend race faster than the speed of light throughout the entire city. Worry was starting to set into Kyle's mind as he tried to figure out where Atrocitus could've gone. It didn't make sense for Atrocitus to seek him out for a fight, only to leave suddenly. Kyle knew from experience that Atrocitus rarely backed down from a fight, always giving it his all until his opponents were dead, so why would the Red Lantern leave?

"I've got nothing so far," Flash said as he joined his friend atop a building, "I can search the entire world if you like, although you've probably already done that."

"Not the entire world," Green Lantern replied, "It's just bugging me."

"Should we call the Justice League? How does that exactly work though?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think this exactly warrants the Justice League's involvement."

"Yeah, what would?" Bart wondered, "There wasn't a need for the team for the past thirty years. My dad won't tell me why they decided to break up, but still. What is out there that would require all of us?"

"I hate to say it, but there's nothing," Kyle said, "There's nothing that we can't handle on our own. I believe Superman has good intentions in bringing us together, but honestly, he's wasting his time. There hasn't been a Justice League for thirty years and there's no need for one now."

"Listen to us. We sound so pessimistic about it," Bart chuckled, "Look at it this way; at least there are a couple of hotties on the team. As far as I know, they're both single."

"Trust you to look at it as a way to chat up girls," Kyle said, "But to spare you physical pain, can I suggest not trying to flirt with Wonder Woman? You'll save in hospital bills."

"Thanks for the tip, brother. I'll keep that in mind. So, what do you think my chances are with the Huntress? We at least have one thing in common."

Kyle simply shook his head in amusement, "Come on, I'm sure there are other things we could be doing instead of wondering how badly you'll get injured from those two women."

"Fine. Race you to China. Loser pays for lunch."

He was gone in the blink of an eye and Green Lantern gave chase with a smirk, creating a construct of the Millennium Falcon to better race against his friend.

-X-


	8. Hunted

Roy perused the shelves, looking for a strong bottle of alcohol to keep him company for the night. He knew he shouldn't drink, since it would interfere with his training, but he really wasn't caring right now. He felt conflicted, torn between Amanda Waller and the Justice League. He didn't like the government, couldn't stand Waller, but they had him in their hand, at least until he did what they asked him to and they wiped his record clean. Unfortunately, that meant betraying the Justice League and Roy didn't want that. He felt it was an honour being on the team, achieving what his mentor, Green Arrow, had done and he didn't want to ruin his chances of staying on the team, but there wasn't much he could do when Waller and the government figuratively had him by the balls. For the first time in his life, Roy had found something that he could be a part of and as always, there was someone or something just waiting out there to screw it up for him. Couldn't he just be happy for once?

Selecting a bottle of thirty-year-old Lagavulin, Roy headed to the front counter and as the clerk scanned the bottle for payment, Roy noticed a man standing out the front of the liquor store, talking on the phone. He was of Middle-Eastern appearance and somewhat familiar to Roy, but he decided to ignore it, at least until they locked eyes and the man took just a few seconds too long to look away. Realising that it was his past catching up to him, Roy paid for the whiskey and left the store, walking past the man, who acted as if nothing had happened. However, Roy had only gone ten paces before he could hear the man following him and the archer grumbled to himself, really not in the mood for dealing with people from his past, especially those who he'd upset and were seeking his head. A dark car with heavily tinted windows drove slowly along the sidewalk, then pulled up and two Middle-Eastern men stepped out before Roy and he mentally cursed, before quickly scanning the surrounding area for any witnesses and escape routes. Ducking into the nearest shop, Roy ignored the protests of the employees as he barged past them, heading for the back door to escape into the alley, noting that the men were indeed pursuing him. Bursting into the back alley, Roy waited by the doorframe, smashing the Lagavulin bottle into the face of the first man to step out, then grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him across the alley into the opposite wall. Seeing their partner in danger, the other two men drew their handguns and rushed out into the alley, as Roy grabbed onto the gun arm of one hitman, kneeing him in the gut, then palmed him across the jaw, while making sure to cover himself from the third hitman's gun.

The third hitman fired his silenced gun, unfortunately striking his partner when Roy twisted their bodies and he returned fire, hitting the hitman twice in the chest. The first hitman got to his feet, his eyes burning from the alcohol and he drew his gun, but Roy was already upon him, firing palm strikes into the hitman's solar plexus while keeping his gun pointed to the sky. Hooking his leg around the hitman's leg, Roy threw him to the ground and elbowed him on the temple, a second blow rendering the hitman unconscious. Breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush, Roy slowly rose to his feet and sighed in annoyance at the broken Lagavulin bottle, angered that his past had caught up with him. Then again, wasn't that the reason why he was forced to work for Amanda Waller in the first place? His past?

Taking the handguns, Roy made his way out of the alley, hating that he was in this situation, wanting his past to be simply just that, remain in the past, but he knew that the government was the only small ray of hope that he had. They were his way out, as much as he hated to admit it. That was at least until he had become part of the Justice League, but he was under strict orders not to tell them the truth. Perhaps it might be worth the exile from the team? Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the suffering he would endure from the government. The future that he hoped for, where he was free? He could kiss that goodbye if he tried to tell the Justice League anything. With a sigh of resignation, Roy headed home, still in the same state of mind he had been in ever since Waller and Lex Luthor had called to his apartment.

-X-

Lex worked on his tablet, furiously inputting commands and watching as his creation complied with his every whim. So far, things were looking satisfactory, but Lex was pushing himself further, wanting everything to be absolutely perfect, with not a single chance of doubt. He was still hurting over the dismissal from not just one powerful company, but three and he was willing to show them that he was not to be trifled with.

"Think I'm just like my father, do they?" Lex muttered angrily to himself as he worked, "Well, I'll show them. My father was a failure. I'm not. I'll show them that refusing my offer was a bad idea. And then when they have nothing, they'll come begging to me for help!"

"Is everything okay?" Waller asked, appearing beside Lex, "Or do you just enjoy looking like a crazy man? Then again, it's not like some people don't think that of you."

Lex gave her a sideways glare, "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to make sure that everything is still running smoothly."

"It's going great, thanks for asking," he snapped moodily.

"Where's Atrocitus?"

"Probably performing some blood ritual or blood sacrifice or whatever. He took my technical assistant. I'll need another one by Monday. How'd you go with Jason Todd?"

"Unsuccessful. However, I do have another candidate in mind. That's why I need Atrocitus."

Lex snorted, "I don't know why you're bothering with a small team. This beast is all you need to defeat the Justice League. It destroyed the original Superman in the past."

"And he came back to life," Waller recalled, "I prefer it when they stay dead."

"Don't worry. He will make sure of that."

Waller glanced around the laboratory, before leaning close to Lex. "You do realise that we're not letting that Red Lantern have him. It's taking everything we've got to keep him subdued. The last thing we need is for him to go on an uncontrollable rampage."

"You have a contingency plan?" Lex asked.

"For Atrocitus, yes. For Doomsday? Well, short of a nuclear missile, I don't have one."

"I don't want to brag, but once we're done, there's no chance of Doomsday breaking our control. And I mean absolutely no chance. There's not even a shadow of a doubt."

"I hope his actions back up your words, otherwise it's all on you," Waller said.

She then turned and walked away, leaving Lex to resume his work in a mood.

-X-

Lara dipped through the sky, then shot upwards, hovering there for a moment, her eyes closed and body relaxed, before she plummeted towards Earth. Keeping her eyes closed, Lara built up speed as she shot towards the ground, trying to use her other senses to detect the impending impact, then at the last minute; she twisted her body and narrowly skimmed above the ground, before returning to the sky. She had been capable of flight ever since she was a child, but it never failed to entertain her, seeing it as an outlet whenever she was frustrated with something, like if she was having an argument with her parents and she needed to get away. She had often done that a lot during her teenage years, but while she did end up on the opposite side of the world sometimes, it usually wasn't long before either one of her parents found her and escorted her back home. But the thing was that her parents were never angry at her for it. They were always calm, especially her father, reprimanding her without any anger in their voices. That was one thing Lara loved about them. They understood what she was going through and were always there for her, willing to help even if she felt like she didn't deserve it.

Hovering in the sky and feeling her problems melt away; Lara caught sight of a small private plane descending towards the family farm and using her telescopic vision, she saw the large 'W' on the tail fin and she remembered what was happening tonight: the Waynes were coming over for dinner tonight. Conner had invited them after talking with her parents, but Lara had a feeling she knew the real reason for the function: Conner wanted her on the Justice League and he was going to use Helena as back-up.

The plane descended towards the runway, slowly coming to a stop before turning around to prepare for when they departed. The hatch opened up and Helena stepped out, followed by her brother, as Conner appeared before them in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, glad you could make it," he smiled.

"Short notice, but we got here as best as we could," Helena returned the smile.

"Hi, Conner. Where's Jonathan?" Damian asked.

"He's out in the field with Clark, finishing up work."

With a nod, Damian was gone, finding young Jonathan Kent putting the tractor away by carrying it above his head, leaving Helena and Conner on the airstrip.

"Well, shall we?" Conner asked, offering his arm.

"We shall, my good man," Helena smiled light-heartedly, taking his offer.

They made their way towards the family house, as Lara sighed and shot off for a flight around the world, wanting to clear her head. It wasn't that she hated Helena, but it was hard to respect humanity when she was the most powerful being on the planet, a hybrid of Kryptonian and Amazon. As much as Diana tried to instil the respect for mankind into her, Lara couldn't help but look down on them, especially given that she had to grow up in secret and thus never really ventured into their world until she became the new Wonder Woman. Sure, she fought to protect them, mostly because of the ideals her parents taught her, but she hated seeing the fear in their eyes because of her immense power. Also, the villains Lara had to face, like her psychopathic uncle Ares, or Darkseid and Mongul, real major threats, was another reason why she couldn't completely take Helena and Terry seriously, since they only fought insane humans. At least they kept the crime rate down in Gotham, preventing Lara from having to do it.

"_Isn't this going to make tonight interesting?"_ Lara thought, before flying down to the house.

-X-


	9. Dinner With the Kents

Dinner was wonderful, since Diana had made her Greek specialty, the Lasagnaopolis, which Conner told Helena was usually described as the lasagne of the Gods. During dinner, Conner and Helena were discussing the Justice League with Clark, with some input from Diana every now and again. The two original Leaguers agreed to a new Justice League and were giving the pair some hints and tips, mostly regarding public approval. Damian and Jonathan were animatedly talking about what blockbuster summer movie they wanted to see, while Lara kept to herself, picking at her dinner and trying to drown out her brother's voice. Her parents tried to get her involved in the Justice League conversation, but Lara politely declined.

"Is everything okay?" Diana asked her daughter when she got the chance, "I know you're normally quiet, but you've never been this quiet."

"I'm fine, Mother. I think I just don't have much of an appetite tonight."

"But this is your favourite. You're not sick, are you? Then again, you can't get sick, so-"

Lara glared as Diana pressed the back of her hand against her forehead, but the Amazon ignored the look, concerned about her daughter.

"You don't have a temperature," Diana continued, "So it must be something else-"

"Uh, may I be excused?" Lara interrupted, getting up from the table, "I need some air."

She left the table, receiving mostly looks of concern from everyone else, as she headed outside and took in a deep breath. She didn't want to be a part of the Justice League, which she saw as a reminder that she wasn't human. She may look human, but her physiology was anything but and the last thing Lara wanted was a constant reminder. It wasn't that she hated her powers (the power of flight was her favourite), but she hated not feeling human. Like her mother said, Lara couldn't get sick and had never experienced childhood illness, nor could she feel like she could ever get close to a partner without fear of accidently harming or killing them with her immense strength. She felt sometimes that her powers were a cage and try as she might to be human, she could never forget about her dual heritage, a fact that had haunted her since she was a young child and she was being trained by Amazons on Themyscira. Plus, there was another reason why Lara didn't want to join the Justice League –

"Lara!"

Turning around, Lara realised she was levitating, but didn't descend to the ground as Conner and Helena approached her. Instead, she remained hovering and crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" Lara demanded, lacing her voice with annoyance.

"I'm worried about you," Conner said, floating up to join her, "Ever since the Watchtower, you haven't exactly been yourself."

"I know why you asked Helena to come around. You want me to join your silly little team. I thought you respected my decision to decline."

"Standing right here," Helena called from the ground, "Just because I can't fly doesn't mean you have to talk about me like I'm not here."

"Look, I can understand why you don't want to join," Conner continued, "But I think the team would greatly benefit from having you on it."

"Really? Conner, do you even know the reason why the original Justice League broke up in the first place?" Lara said, "Did my father ever tell you why?"

Helena stayed silent, wanting to hear the explanation. She had asked her own father about why the Justice League broke up, but Bruce had always stated that it wasn't his place to explain, saying he respected the decision, as well as Clark and Diana's privacy. And from the look on Conner's face, he didn't know the reason either.

"My mother fell pregnant with me," Lara explained, "You've got Superman and Wonder Woman, two of the most powerful beings on the planet. What happens when they have children together? Humans will never accept a being like me. They fear my power and they have every right to. I'm even stronger than you, Conner. What happens if I suddenly turned against the world? Who's there that can stop me?"

"You're not the only one, Lara," Conner said, "You were created out of love. I was created to be a weapon, to attack and destroy every single super-human on the planet. But like you, I learnt the value of protecting innocent lives, even if they fear us. That's why I wanted to reform the Justice League, just in case we were ever to turn on humanity, there would a group of people who could stop us or even prevent us from turning in the first place. Every day, I worry that N.O.W.H.E.R.E's programming will take over, but now that I'm surrounded by a team of people who will make sure that doesn't happen, I can relax easier."

Helena remained quiet, listening to the conversation and knowing what Conner was saying was true, even though neither he nor Lara really knew much about it. She already had contingency plans in place just in case either one turned against the world, having studied their strengths and weaknesses ever since she knew them. Hell, she even had plans in place for the rest of the team, including Green Lantern and the Flash, hoping that she would never need to use them. Paranoia was something she had inherited from her father and preparation was the first thing she had ever learnt. Preparing for everything was important, even for the improbable.

"That sounds nice, Conner, but I can't join something that I was responsible for breaking up in the first place," Lara said, floating higher, "Even if I didn't have a choice."

"You have a choice now and I respect that," Conner said, "Perhaps some time in the future you might reconsider. If you do, there'll be a place waiting for you."

Lara gave him a small smile of thanks, then shot off at speeds faster than light itself.

-X-

_Arkham Asylum._

Room 512 was the one room that the orderlies never liked going even anywhere near, so when one was assigned to that room for the day, they usually received a well of sympathy from the others. Sure, the asylum was packed with psychopaths, but the one in Room 512 was a special case of the truly insane kind. Doctors, therapists and psychologists had all given up on treating the patient, stating their official diagnosis that there was no help for her at all and that it would be best to stay away as much as possible, along with keeping any sharp instruments well out of her reach. The only contact she was allowed to have was when she received her medication, which hardly had any effect on her. The good thing was that she never shouted or acted out like the other insane patients, but every now and again, there would be insane laughter coming from her cell that would send shivers down the spines of the orderlies if they happened to walk past.

Like now.

Duela Dent sat in the cell of her father, wrapped up in a strait-jacket ad her head leaning against the corner of the wall, mumblings and laughter escaping her lips. She was insane before she came into the asylum, now she was just full-blown nuts, always talking to herself about the Huntress, dreaming up scenarios where she was the victor. No-one paid her any mind, not since she stabbed an orderly in the eye with his own pen and that was the way Duela preferred it. She liked it here in her cell, the same cell where her father had rotted for thirty years, enjoying the irony in it and wondering for the two hundredth time if the Huntress really did have a sense of humour. Sitting there in her own little fantasy world, her head rotating in a circular motion as she rocked on her hips, Duela barely noticed the wall of her cell glowing red, growing brighter with intensity, until the wall melted away into a hole large enough for a person to step through. Wrapped up in her insanity, Duela didn't notice until Atrocitus stepped into her cell, all tall and imposing, with Amanda Waller joining him thanks to a floating platform construct, her presence less than impressive.

"Are you my knight in bloody armour?" Duela drawled to Atrocitus.

"What is this madness?" Atrocitus demanded to Waller, "How is she useful?"

"It's her madness that makes her useful," Waller replied, "Hello, Duela. How are things? Have they been treating you well?" she asked as if she was speaking to a child.

"I'm insane, not immature," Duela glared at her, "Do you have my medicine? The ducks say that only people with my medicine are allowed in my castle. If not, you should run away. Apparently, I kill people. That's crazy. I just like to hurt them. It's not my fault they die."

"No, it's not," Waller said, trying to play along, "It's their fault for wrongly imprisoning you. They're blaming you for their misunderstanding. Do you follow me, Duela?"

"Why, are we going somewhere? Then again, I won't follow you even if I could. Mother told me not to follow strangers, unless it was to run away from the police. Even then, they had to follow me, so they could be bait for the piggies and I get to run away."

"You're wasting your time, human," Atrocitus snarled at Waller, "We should put her out of her misery and focus instead on destroying Green Lantern."

"Not if you want to have Luthor's beast at your disposal," Waller snapped to the Red Lantern, unafraid despite his power, "I know patience isn't your best virtue, not unlike hygiene, but this requires proper planning."

"Green Lantern? Was that the pretty little comet that crashed into Gotham?" Duela asked.

"Yes, and one of his friends is the Huntress," Waller said, "You know the Huntress, right?"

"Yeah, me and her go way back. Back when we were both starting out and we were like BFFs, but with taunts, punches and deaths. Great times. But then she ruined the game and now here I am, waiting for the game to start again. It's like _Jumanji_."

"What if I told you I can help you start your game with the Huntress again?" Waller asked, "As long as you do something for me first."

"Of course, isn't that how it always goes?" Duela replied, a change overcoming her, "So why don't you hurry up and undress me so I can play with my friend or are you always this boring in bed?"

Ignoring her words, Waller motioned to Atrocitus, who grumbled under his breath before using his ring to remove Duela's strait-jacket, then encased the two women into balls of red light, taking them with him as he made his escape from the asylum as the alarms rang.

-X-


	10. Freedom

The streets of Metropolis were bustling as always, a sight that Conner could never get sick of and he could see why Clark had always fought so hard to protect this city. Now, that responsibility had fallen upon Conner, which he had taken to with enthusiasm, wanting to make Clark proud. But for the time being, Metropolis was quite peaceful, there was no major threat that needed Superman and Conner had some time to kill before work, so he decided to spend that time with someone who had as much as a positive influence on his life as Clark did. He was on his way towards her home when he accidentally bumped into someone, a young woman, knocking the tablet from her hands and he immediately picked it up for her amongst several apologies.

"Thanks," the woman said, before taking a good look at him, "Hey, aren't you-?"

"Conner Kent from Global Galaxy News?" he cut in with a flashy smile.

"No, you look more like…Superman!"

The smile faded instantly, "Yeah, I get that a lot. I'll leave you to your day."

Before the woman could respond, Conner was gone.

_"That was a little too close for my liking."_

He hurried his pace, hoping to catch her before she left for work. Entering the five-star apartment block, Conner headed to the sixth floor and located her home, knocked three times and waited patiently. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait for long.

"Conner, hi!" Lois Lane-Carroll greeted when she answered the door, "Please, come in."

The loft was pretty much like a small two-bedroom home, comfy and spacious, enough for Lois and her husband to live in. Although Lois once has a relationship with Clark, it didn't work out and they broke up while remaining as good friends. However, their brief relationship was enough for Waller to believe they were compatible and therefore use their DNA, along with Lex Luthor Senior's, to create Conner. While Clark had been the uncle/big-brother figure to Conner, Lois was more like the mother he never had. She always cooked his favourite dinner when he came around, offered him advice when he asked (and sometimes when he didn't), supported his adventures as Superman and even reprimand him like a mother would if he did something wrong. Conner was thankful to have her in his life and couldn't imagine what it would be like without her.

"How have you been, Conner?" Lois asked, "Come, sit down. I was just making myself some tea. Would you like a cup?"

"I won't say no," Conner accepted, sitting down on the plush leather couch, "And I've been good thanks, Lois. Staying out of trouble if I can. Yourself?"

"As good as I can be," Lois replied from the nearby kitchen, "So, I saw that you were in Gotham the other day with a bunch of superheros and there are rumours going around that the Justice League might be returning and you were going to be part of it."

"I thought it would be a good idea and I would like it to happen," Conner said, accepting the tea, "I've got a team together, but now we just need a reason to actually be together."

"So why did you feel the need for the Justice League?" Lois asked, "The team broke up before Lara was born and they haven't been together since. So what made you decide that the team needed a revival?"

"Because it has been such a long time," Conner replied, "I recognise that it's been years, I know that the threats we have individually faced don't require the need for the Justice League and there may never been one. But I revived the team just in case there ever was a need for it. What if there was a major disaster and the Justice League wasn't there to face it because the team didn't exist in the first place?"

"I see your point, Conner," Lois said, "And just like how I was a supporter of the original Justice League, you can count on me to be a supporter for this one."

"Thanks, Lois. I really appreciate that."

"So, how's Clark?"

Conner gave her a small smile and told her how Clark was, continuing to work the family farm at Smallville, while Diana was still part of the U.N. Embassy. He also told his genetic mother about wanting his cousin to join the League and the difficulty in doing so, while also mentioning Lara's self-blaming about the original Justice League's break-up because of her birth. They talked for so long, mostly about the Justice League and their own personal lives (Lois even asked if Conner was seeing someone, to which he denied), that Conner almost forgot about the time until he looked at the clock.

"Damn, I almost forgot," Conner cried, "I have to go, Lois. Thank you for the tea."

"You're welcome, Conner," Lois smiled, giving him a hug and a cheek kiss.

Returning the smile, Conner left the apartment and headed out to the street, where he was contemplating either flying or running at high speeds to get to work. Or at least that was the plan until there was an explosion.

-X-

Deputy Commissioner Foley stood in cell of room 512, staring at the large melted hole in the wall. Thankfully, the other inmates were quiet today, as the other officers collected evidence, trying to figure out what caused the hole to allow Duela Dent to escape. Foley remembered the chaos she had unleashed upon Gotham City all too well and he feared another reign of terror. Hopefully, they would be able to find the Joker's daughter before she started, but evidence showed that she could only be found when she was causing trouble. However, how many people were going to die before the madwoman was caught?

"What happened?"

Foley whirled around to see the Huntress standing in the doorway and he could tell from the look in her eyes, she wasn't happy. Pissed off seemed to be the more appropriate term and Foley knew from experience that when the Huntress was pissed off, it never ended well. He almost felt sorry for Duela when she was found. Almost.

"Honestly, we're not sure," Foley replied, "About 8:45 last night, the surveillance was cut. It was about ten minutes later when a patrol guard went to check the cells found that Duela was missing. Some of the workers here say they saw three large red balls of light fly away from here, around the time Duela went missing."

The Huntress strode into the cell and straight to the hole, inspecting it. The edges of the hole were melted and corroded, something that she had never seen before. Utilising the computerised contact lenses, the Huntress took photographs to send back to the cave for study, then took samples of the melted matter for analysis. Whatever had broken her rival out of Arkham, she was going to find them and hurt them badly. Then, she was going to beat Duela unconscious before she could cause any destruction and drag her broken body back to the asylum. The sooner the Huntress found Duela, the better for Gotham. She was simply too dangerous to be let loose upon the city and whoever had set her free obviously had plans for her, which couldn't mean anything good.

"Who would want to release Duela anyway?" Foley wondered.

The analysis came back to Helena, telling her that the substance involved in the break-out was blood of some kind, but it couldn't tell her what kind, other that it was foreign. Frowning, the Huntress left the asylum without another word.

-X-

Earth looked massive when you're looking down at it from outer space. At least, it looked huge to a human. Roy was standing inside the Watchtower, which had been repaired by Green Lantern following his battle with Atrocitus. He still couldn't believe that he was a part of the Justice League, just like his mentor Oliver Queen, but with that came the burden of betrayal. Roy didn't want to betray the League, but he knew he had to in order to secure freedom for his future. He was actually surprised when Terry had asked him to join him on the Watchtower to watch over Lobo while Terry worked on calibrating the teleporter. The system still worked albeit it was a bit dysfunctional due to a lack of use over the years. Roy knew about Waller's plan to take care of the Justice League and as much as he didn't want to get involved, she had his arm twisted behind his back. She wanted to use Lobo and that was part of the reason why Roy was here. But as he argued with himself over what he should do, part of him was wondering if Terry suspected him. Perhaps that was why Terry had asked him to join him on the Watchtower. It had to be, why else would Terry ask him? Especially when he could have someone else like Superman or Green Lantern. Standing in the jail room, Roy watched Lobo just sit in his cell, clearly bored out of his mind. He was the pawn that Waller needed and Roy was the only one who could give him to her. Just then, his phone rang and he quickly answered it in order to avoid it attracting Terry's attention.

"Hello?" Roy asked, although he knew who was calling.

"Are you on the Watchtower today?" Waller demanded.

"Actually, I am. What do you want?"

"Good. We are ready to go. If you can, release the alien and send him to Earth. Do it now."

Roy stood there, debating the decision and Waller quickly got annoyed.

"Either you do it, Harper or you can kiss your freedom goodbye. Which one is more important?"

"Fine. I'll do it."

She hung up and Lobo looked up with interest as Roy approached his cell, disabling the lock and the bars slid open. Lobo grinned maliciously as he stepped out, then caught Roy by the throat in the blink of an eye, easily lifting him off his feet.

"Well, aren't you just feeling stupid and suicidal today?" Lobo grinned, "Thanks by the way."

Then he hurled Roy at the wall and the last thing he saw was Lobo's boot coming down.

-X-

AN: That was the first time I have ever written Lois Lane and I don't know if I got her character right. I'm hoping I at least wrote her interaction with Conner right.


	11. Lobo's Escape

The taste of freedom was exhilarating to Lobo as he left the jail room and began looking for the exit. Then, he was going to track down Superman, kill him and claim his money. That was the idea, until Lobo found Batman standing in his way. Utilising nanotechnology, Terry had redesigned his suit while still keeping with his original look. The suit's surface now appeared to be coarse and abrasive, protecting him from soft-skin attacks. The backpack was gone, because of the nanotechnology, allowing Terry to literally grow gliding wings from his back, along with weapons and tools he normally used. Even though his accessories were on his body under the suit, due to the nature of the nanotechnology, it appeared as though the suit was form-fitting. Terry also wore contact lenses that were computerised and gave him instant access to the cave's computer and databases whenever or wherever he was. Added in with his experience and the heavy training he had received from Helena now made Terry truly a fearsome foe. Not that Lobo really cared.

"Cute suit, Batboy. Think that flimsy costume's gonna stop me?" Lobo sneered.

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Batman replied.

"Don't mind if I do, punk."

The pair headed towards each other, both determined to stop the other and Lobo swung his fist first, narrowly missing Terry's head when he ducked. Batman was thankful for his quick reflexes, knowing that if the blow connected, it would have taken his head off and he swiped at Lobo's gut, the coarse knuckles only just splitting the skin. The skin stitched back together and Lobo caught Batman on the temple with a bruising backhand. Shaking the stars from his eyes, Batman dived past the bounty hunter when he lashed out with a kick, then dived away as a small explosion erupted from Lobo's other leg, throwing him across the room. Growling in annoyance, Lobo then found himself caught with a grappling hook, as Batman retracted the wire and delivered a twin-boot kick to Lobo's chest. The pair both rolled onto their feet, with Batman swinging his fist, connecting with Lobo's face, the spikes on his forearm slicing open Lobo's cheek. Catching Batman's second punch, Lobo kicked him in the chest, the force of the blow slamming Batman against the floor and he went to get up, but Lobo slammed a kick into his stomach, sliding him along the floor. The armour-like suit protected Batman from being fully winded, but he was still stunned by the blow, as Lobo grabbed him by the head.

"You did alright, but I am the Main Man."

"And I'm Batman."

Electricity charged through Lobo and he went flying across the Watchtower, as Batman got up, the taser melting back the suit and he withdrew three batarangs, hurling them at Lobo when he got up. Brushing them aside like they were just annoying insects, Lobo charged at Batman, who threw another batarang. This one exploded into a cloud of smoke, but Lobo still charged, slamming into Batman and crushing him against the floor. Fists came raining down, but contact with the suit's abrasive surface resulted in Lobo tearing his knuckles open and he paused, the smell of blood driving him on, but the pause gave Batman a second chance and he struck, his glove thickening in size to increase the force and Lobo was thrown off. Deciding that he had spent enough time playing around, Lobo got to his feet and charged at the newly repaired window, throwing himself through it and falling through outer space. Batman quickly threw himself into another room to avoid being sucked out by the vacuum, his suit unable to withstand the harshness of space. Lobo needed to be dealt with and he knew just the person he needed. First, he had to deal with the broken window.

Meanwhile, Lobo laughed like a maniac as he fell towards Earth, his ability to withstand the harshness of space preventing him from burning to a crisp as he entered the atmosphere. Pressing a button on his belt, Lobo waited patiently for his motorcycle to turn up, knowing that the human authorities would have taken it into custody. Even if his bike didn't turn up, Lobo wasn't too worried. At least the pain would be quick.

As it turns out, his motorcycle was under heavy security, because Lobo ended up making contact with the ground instead of the motorcycle seat. And since he wasn't Superman, falling from fifty thousand feet was going to end up in a not-so-pretty mess. Smoke rose from the crater Lobo had made with his body, which was more of a bloody paste spread all over the ground. Something twitched and began to rise from the paste, until a fully regrown Lobo stepped out of the crater and began retrieving his clothes. The ability to regenerate from a single drop of blood was a handy power that Lobo never failed to take advantage of when needed, although it was a bit of a hassle sometimes, especially when he had to dress again. Then, his motorcycle finally turned up.

"Oh, took your damn time, ya stupid machine!" Lobo snarled, "It's a good thing I can regenerate from a fall like that one, or else I'd find a way to come back and dismantle you!"

Stomping over to the bike in annoyance, Lobo checked it over, thankful that none of the weapons had been messed with and he found himself a cigar, lighting it up with a blowtorch. If it was one thing he liked about Earth, it was their cigars and after blowing a smoke ring, he began loading himself up with firearms, including a large, double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun that was capable of firing nuclear shells. It was one of his favourite weapons and he enjoyed surprising hi victims with it.

And speaking of victims. Which was in the form of Wonder Woman.

"So, this is back-up?" Lobo leered, "I can't think of anything worse than you."

That was until a jet fighter with bat-like wings showed up with the Huntress in the pilot's seat.

"Oh, well this could be fun," Lobo said.

-X-

Once he was sure that no one was nearby (which there was because he was in an alley), Conner removed his clothes, as the nanotechnology sparked to life and his costume appeared across his body. Blue Kryptonian armour, red accents, boots and belt, the red cape flowing out behind him and symbol of the House of El blazed against his chest, as Conner blasted into the sky at light speed, flying straight towards the commotion. Standing nine feet tall and composed of titanium steel, the robot aimed its hand cannon towards fleeing citizens and fired a ball of energy that created an explosion. It was about to do it again when Superman slammed into it from behind, the pair grinding through the road. Reacting with swift speed belying its massive frame, the robot smacked Superman through the air, then lined him up with the cannon and fired. Dodging the shot, Superman unleashed a blast of heat from his eyes, striking the robot in the chest, but apart from taking a step back due to the force of the heat, the robot was unaffected and used its non-cannon arm to redirect the heat into a nearby building and Conner let up, zooming down to his target and after dodging the large claws, he delivered a planet-shattering blow to the robot's head. It staggered, as Superman followed up by breathing upon the robot, turning the air around to freezing cold and encasing the robot in a block of ice. With the robot immobilised, Conner used his X-ray vision to scan for weaknesses and found something of interest: the Lexcorp symbol etched beneath the robot's chest plate. With the aid of his tactile telekinesis, Superman punched straight through the ice, his fist coming out through the back of the robot's torso. Just to make sure the robot was completely disabled, Superman unleashed a blast of heat vision into the inside of the robot, the heat spreading and destroying everything that operated the robot. That job done, Superman shot off into the sky, leaving the remains behind and flying towards Lexcorp for a 'talk' with Lex Luthor. Like Clark and Luthor Senior before them, Conner and Lex Junior had been feuding ever since they both came onto the scene and it wasn't made easier by the fact that part of Conner's DNA originally belonged to Lex Senior and therefore making him somewhat related to the younger Luthor, a fact that Conner did not enjoy knowing about. Landing outside the Lexcorp building, Superman strode in and proceeded to the front desk.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see Lex Luthor," Superman announced.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked, a bored look on her face even as she saw it was Superman. He was a common sight around here and normally angry with her boss.

"I do now."

The receptionist sighed, "Fine, I'll call him up for you."

"Ah, Superman, how nice to see you," the hologram of Lex Luthor announced his arrival a minute later, "I was actually expecting to see you today."

"With that robot of yours in downtown, that's no surprise," Superman said, "What are you playing at? Putting innocent lives in danger?"

"Don't worry about the damage. I'll repair that later," Lex said, "I wanted to get your attention. There's something I want to show you. Follow me."

"Sounds like a great idea. How about no? Why don't you come out and personally face me?"

"Because then I can't show you what I want to show me. Humour me, will you, brother?"

Superman huffed and motioned to the hologram, who smiled and led him into the bowels of Lexcorp. Superman was constantly on his guard, knowing to never underestimate Lex and kept looking over his shoulder for any sudden attacks. Not that anything Lex used or created was enough to stop Superman, but he didn't like being taken by surprise. He just wanted to get this over and done with, since he was already late for work.

"Oh good, you decided to join me," the real Lex said when Superman and the hologram entered the large room, "See, this is what I wanted to show you. Like it?"

He smiled from where he stood on the second level and Superman saw the beast lying on the large operating table, as it slowly sat up, green optical lenses flashing with malice, as it looked upon Superman and snarled. Superman stared in horror, the appearance of the creature matching the description of the story Clark had once told him. The story of his own death and how that titanic battle was actually the reason Conner existed today.

"Lex, what have you done?" Superman said.

"Hm, I guess you do like it," Lex smirked.

"Superman!" Doomslayer snarled.

-X-


	12. Hostage Situation

Something wasn't right.

Bart watched the numerous police cruisers go flying down the street, their sirens wailing and he wondered what was going on. Whatever it was, he felt the police could use his help and after ducking out of sight from the rest of the population, he activated his spring-loaded ring, the very same one his father had once used and in the half-blink of an eye, he was wearing the Flash outfit. Racing off at light speed, the Flash followed the police until they came to one of the big-name shopping malls in Central City and he saw all the police standing around, all wearing body armour and with their guns drawn.

"What seems to be the problem?" Flash asked one of the nearest officers.

"Oh, you're here. Great, you might be able to help," the officer replied, "There's a hostage situation inside. Someone's in there threatening to blow the place up."

"A hostage situation inside a mall? How is that possible?"

"We've had guys inspect the exits and they appear to be melted together. We do have men ready to storm the place, but with her threats to blow the place up is what's holding us back."

"Probably someone who didn't get the shoes she wanted," the Flash said, "Maybe I can get in there and see if I can reason with her. Do you know whereabouts in the mall she is?"

"Third floor," the officer replied, "I'm telling you, Flash, this girl thought it out. Every single exit has been blocked. No one can get in or out, so be careful. Who knows what she's got planned."

"Right. Got it. Be back soon, hopefully with the crazy lady."

Racing over to the mall, the Flash stopped in front of a pair of doors, seeing that the edges and hinges had all been melted together. Although they were glass doors, the threat of being blown to pieces must have scared the innocents away from trying to break them open. Moving at warp speed, the Flash began vibrating his molecules so that he literally became intangible and phase through the doors, entering the mall. Several people looked at him in surprise, but he quickly hushed them just in case they alerted their aggressor.

It was for naught anyway.

"Well, look who showed up," came Duela's voice over the loudspeaker, "A boy in red and lightning symbols. Are you here to save the day?"

"Whoever you are, you don't have to do this," the Flash said, "We can do this peacefully."

"What makes you think I want to do this peacefully? I did take hostages after all. Now tell me, why are you here? Didn't you hear that I will blow this place up if anyone enters the premises?"

"No, you won't."

Duela cocked an eyebrow in amusement from her position in the security room, watching as the Flash suddenly disappeared from sight and she turned around, finding him standing before her, as she levelled a gun at him.

"Sure, you could shoot that, but FYI, I can dodge bullets," the Flash said.

"Well, you could do that, but every time you make a movement that's faster than a normal human, you decrease the time that's left on the clock faster than normal," Duela smirked.

"You're bluffing."

"You know how many people tell me that and I prove them wrong?"

She held up a small remote, as a hologram of a timer appeared, set to five minutes and to prove her point, Duela fired at Flash. Naturally, he dodged the bullet and the timer now read three minutes, causing Duela to gasp in mock horror.

"How do I know it's really attached to a bomb?" Flash asked, "How do I know it's not a trap?"

"Oh, it is a trap. See, I've been spending the night setting this all up. Of course, I've had some help, but it was mostly all me. There were these lovely little speed traps, set to charge the bomb if you were speeding over three hundred miles per hour, which is normal for you or so I'm told. So actually, you've set the bomb and all these lives are now on you. You should be thanking me for being so thoughtful."

"I could just knock you out and stop the bomb."

"You would really hit a lady? Besides, this gun of mine? Pressure plate under the thumb. It's not even worth trying, Lightning Lad. My thumb leaves the plate: ka-boom. And might I point out that only my thumb can rest on it. No doubt you could take it from me without the bomb blowing, but you won't get the pressure right in time."

"Why are you doing this?" Flash asked, "What do you want?"

"You talk too much," Duela replied, "Too much talking, not enough doing. That's so typical of you moronic superheroes. Normally, I wouldn't be dealing with you, but I was told to and I like a challenge, so I accepted. Now, what I want you to do is go out to where the crowd is, so they can all see you and I get to shoot you dead. Because you don't want to risk everyone's lives by doing what you do. Human pace only, Light Bulb and let's go."

She motioned with her gun and the Flash sighed, slowly raising his hands so he didn't trigger the bomb, the timer now down to under two minutes and he walked out of the room, with Duela following him at a good distance away so he couldn't counter with human speed. With her gun aimed at his back, Duela marched the Flash out to the centre of the mall, allowing everyone to see that she had their city's hero at gunpoint and she smiled to herself, savouring the power she held over the Flash, enjoying the fear and apprehension she saw on the civilians' faces, knowing they were wondering why their hero was being held at gunpoint. She had him on a leash and she was going to make him suffer before she ended him.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Duela Dent at your service today and at the end of my gun's service is your dear saviour, the Flash. Well known for running very, very fast, he's the reason why your lives are all in danger. See, because of his speed, he has actually triggered the countdown to the bomb that will blow you to kingdom come. I just wanted you to know that before you died horribly. And now-"

"Hey, Duela," the Flash said, "You said the bomb was triggered if I moved any faster than three hundred miles, correct?"

"Your point, Roadrunner?"

"Okay, so the bomb is triggered, right? It's already armed and ticking, so everyone's doomed. Of course, that is assuming that the bomb is still within the boundaries of the mall."

"What are you talking about?" Duela demanded.

In an eye blink, the Flash was standing before her, a cocky grin on his face.

"For you, it was about a second for me to get from the entrance to you. For me, a second is a lifetime. I found your bomb before I found you. No one's in danger. Except for you."

Duela cocked an eyebrow, "You mean bombs, right?"

The grin faded from Bart's face, "What?"

Duela showed off the timer, revealing the tiny button at the bottom, her thumb hovering over it, but before she could press it, the skylight shattered and Batman came gliding down, landing before the pair.

"Duela, surrender now or face the consequences," Batman demanded.

"Now, where would be the fun in that?" Duela smirked.

She pushed the button.

-X-

"What the hell are you doing here?" Wonder Woman demanded, flying up to confront the Huntress, "Did Batman send you here as well?"

"He did," Helena replied, "Is that a problem?"

"Yeah, I don't need your help to take down Lobo."

The Huntress lowered the cannons on her jet and fired at Lobo, just as he took off on his motorcycle. With a growl of annoyance, Wonder Woman took off after the bounty hunter, with the Huntress following her and she unleashed a blast of heat from her eyes, missing Lobo when he swerved. Grinning cockily, Lobo spun the motorcycle around and began riding backwards, then flipped Wonder Woman the finger, before firing two missiles at her. Destroying them with her heat vision, Wonder Woman shot at Lobo and swung her fist, just as he drew his nuclear shotgun and fired both barrels in her face. Normally, shotguns wouldn't have an effect on Wonder Woman, but nuclear-powered ones did and she was thrown back through the air, as Lobo grinned, before being fired upon by the Huntress' chain-guns. Spinning the motorcycle around, Lobo took off across the open landscape, a missile closing in on him. At the last minute, he released a counter-measure that destroyed the missile for him and he laughed, firing off a thin laser beam that the Huntress narrowly avoided. Flying higher into the sky, Lobo spun the motorcycle around and shot at the Huntress, wanting to see who would pull out of the clash first. The Huntress blasted her chain-guns at Lobo, but he was weaving through the air, laughing like a madman, twin nuclear-fuelled missiles streaking towards the Huntress. Until twin beams of heated energy sliced straight through them, causing them to explode, then sliced through Lobo's motorcycle. There was an explosion and Lobo went tumbling through the air, his face crashing into Lara's fist. Blood spurted and Lobo smashed into the ground, as Wonder Woman descended, the Huntress putting her jet into hover mode, with all her weapons locked onto Lobo, ready to demolish him if need be.

"I was told that it would be impossible for you to escape," Wonder Woman said, crossing her arms over her chest, "Mind telling me how you escaped from the Watchtower or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Lobo grinned menacingly, unfurling his hooked chain from his arm, his nuclear shotgun by his side, "I think you're going to have to beat it out of me, sweetheart."

Wonder Woman cracked her knuckles, "Fine. I think I'm going to enjoy this."

"I think we both will."

-X-


	13. Lobo vs Wonder Woman

Duela's thumb pushed the button.

Or at least that's what she expected to happen. Except that the Flash was waving the timer before her with a smirk, her gun in his other hand. She simply sneered at him.

"You really think that's the only gun I have?"

A batarang clipped her on the side of the head and Duela whirled around with a look of anger, but Batman was already upon her, his fist crashing into the side of her face, leaving her unconsciously sprawled on the floor, as the Flash inspected the timer. It had reached zero, but was still counting down into the negatives, something that Batman picked up on.

"Flash, quick, get everyone out of here!"

Moving at the speed of light, the Flash swept throughout the entire mall, evacuating the citizens, getting them as far away from the building as he could, the timer constantly on his mind as he focused on getting the people out. Meanwhile, Batman grabbed Duela and grappled out of the mall through the shattered skylight, the timer reversing and speeding back towards zero, striking it and igniting the bomb. The explosion swept throughout the entire building, Batman launching himself off the rooftop and extending his glider wings, flying away to safety, everyone watching as the mall was consumed in a ball of fire, crumbling to the ground. Authorities came and placed Duela in handcuffs, taking her away, as Batman and the Flash slowly approached the demolition site, staring at where the mall had used to be.

"Not that I don't appreciate the help," the Flash said, "But what were you doing here?"

"I got the teleporter working and was going to help Wonder Woman and the Huntress deal with Lobo, but I heard about the hostage situation here," Batman replied, "When I hacked the security feed and saw that Duela was involved, I knew I had to come here. The Huntress would be glad to know that she is returning to Arkham."

"Okay, great, but how did Lobo get free?"

"I believe we had a traitor in our group. Arsenal was watching over him. The only way Lobo could have gotten free is if Arsenal set him loose."

"I knew there was something shifty about that guy. Have you put him in one of the cells?"

"He's contained. But right now, I need to find out who broke Duela out of Arkham."

"You don't mind if I join you?" the Flash asked, "After all, she did blow up a building and threaten a number of lives in my city."

"Very well then," Batman replied, "I just hope she feels like telling the truth."

"So, uh, you think Wonder Woman and the Huntress can deal with Lobo together? They don't seem like they get along that well."

"That's why I sent them both after Lobo in order to make them work together and they can understand the value of teamwork."

"Fingers crossed your gamble pays off."

-X-

Wonder Woman unfurled her whip, the red electrical energy humming to life. Lobo snapped out his chain, the hook slicing towards Wonder Woman's throat, but she ducked and spun around, her whip wrapping around Lobo's calf and she yanked, pulling him off his feet. The Huntress waited patiently, watching as Lobo got up, narrowly avoiding the whip snapping towards his head and he charged at Wonder Woman, flailing his chain around and it wrapped around Wonder Woman's arm, but she pulled him through the air, her leg whipping out. Hitting the ground again, Lobo rolled away from the whip as it literally sliced through the dirt and he made a 'come here' gesture with his hands, grinning at Wonder Woman. His chain was behind her, but that didn't matter to Lobo, as he caught the whip and yanked Wonder Woman close, only for her fist to smash his face. Undeterred, Lobo returned the gesture, his second blow slamming home into Wonder Woman's gut. She responded with a short leaping head-butt and Lobo staggered, but he still managed to catch Wonder Woman's leg on her follow-through. However, Wonder Woman spun around, her heel catching Lobo on the cheek and he was face-planted into the ground. Meanwhile, the Huntress sat in her hovering jet, still waiting for an opportunity, still wondering why Terry had sent her after Lobo along with Wonder Woman. Was it an attempt to get them to work together? They didn't see eye to eye, so this was probably Terry's attempt to get them to bury the hatchet, so to speak. But the way Wonder Woman was handling the fight, she didn't need Helena's help.

"I heard you were a tough bounty hunter," Wonder Woman sneered, "But you're just nothing but a little harmless bunny. And useless too."

Lobo didn't reply. Instead, he drew out a cigar and lit it up with a miniature blowtorch. If there was one thing he liked about Earth, it was the cigars. Humans made great cigars. Blowing out a puff of smoke, Lobo got to his feet and stretched his arms, loosening up the muscles.

"You want a fight, princess?" Lobo taunted, "Come and get one."

She flew at him, swinging her fist, but having fought Superman enough times, Lobo timed it right and grabbed her arm, before flipping her over his shoulder. His spiked boot came crashing down, but Wonder Woman was already out of the way, twin heat beams slamming into Lobo's chest and blasting him across the landscape. Rolling onto his feet from the momentum, Lobo whipped out an alien handgun that fired three green lasers, which Wonder Woman easily avoided. The Huntress fired two missiles that slammed into Lobo, creating an explosion, but Lobo came stumbling out of the smoke, unharmed by the attack. Wonder Woman glared at the Huntress, who ignored the look and opened fire with her chain-guns. Lobo staggered back from the bullets smashing into his chest, blood peppering the dirt.

"Come on, is this even fair?" Lobo demanded, despite his chest being torn apart.

The Huntress let up from her assault and as Lobo began healing his wounds, Wonder Woman flew at him, her knee smashing into his jaw and she flipped over him, her whip wrapping around his neck and she flew up, strangling him with her whip. Snarling, Lobo grabbed the whip and pulled, while drawing his shotgun and blasting both barrels into Wonder Woman's stomach. She hit the ground hard, before blasting Lobo with her heat vision and before he even landed, Wonder Woman was there, her boot crushing his back and Lobo rolled to his feet, throwing a punch. Blocking the blow, Wonder Woman spun around with a backfist, only for Lobo to stop the move and knee her in the gut, then drop his forearm across her back. Smacking his ankle out from underneath him, Wonder Woman then grabbed his leg and hurled him into the air, before flying up after him, both fists being driven into his back. Before he could recover, Wonder Woman threw him into the ground, the landing rattling Lobo to the core. With a groan, he looked up, spotting his chain nearby.

"I think you should hurry up and end this fight," the Huntress said via loudspeaker.

Wonder Woman waved her off and lifted Lobo up, but he wrapped his chain around her throat, moving behind her so he could strangle her easier, hoisting her onto his back. A beeping arrow pierced his abdomen and Lobo frowned, easing off the chain, which gave Wonder Woman the chance to flip over him, her fist smashing his jaw. The arrow then exploded and Wonder Woman breathed onto Lobo, freezing the air around him to encase him in a block of ice, before turning to the Huntress, who lowered her crossbow arm.

"You're welcome," Helena said, "Even if I don't get a thanks."

Wonder Woman rubbed her sore throat, "No, I appreciate the help there. Thanks."

The Huntress simply nodded, knowing that Lara wasn't exactly one to admit that she needed help and she just accepted the thanks, before gesturing to the frozen Lobo.

"So, what do we do with him?"

-X-

"Lex, what have you done?" Superman cried.

"Isn't he marvellous?" Lex smirked, making his way over to where his battle suit rested and started getting into it, "The original Doomsday's DNA has been in cold storage for nearly thirty years, so when Waller and I decided to control the superhero population, we felt that the best thing to use was Doomsday. After all, he did kill the original Superman."

"This is madness. You can't hope to control him," Superman said, standing his ground even as Doomslayer approached him, "Do you realise the number of deaths that will be on your head? One of those could even be you."

"Oh, I don't think so. See, Doomslayer is completely under my control. I'll even prove it to you. Doomslayer, destroy Superman."

Superman narrowly avoided the giant, spiked fist thrown his way and responded with a blast of heat vision, but Doomslayer was barely affected and instead, caught Superman on the side of the head with his other fist. Smashing into the wall, Superman fell to his knee, thoughts racing through his head. He knew about Clark's fight with the unstoppable beast, knew the danger Doomsday possessed and knew that he couldn't allow this Doomslayer to leave Lexcorp. Launching himself across the laboratory, Superman drove his fist into Doomslayer's cybernetic face, getting struck in the chest by twin green eye lasers in return.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that Doomslayer is created from the DNA of both the original Doomsday and Superman?" Lex smirked, looking down at the demolished lab, "So he's got some brand new powers to go with his colossal strength."

Superman dodged Doomslayer's fist, but was caught by a backhand, smashing through the wall. He went to get up, but found his arms and legs constricted by red hard-light energy. Frowning, he looked up to see Atrocitus standing nearby, as Doomslayer came crashing after him, booting him through the ceiling and leaping up after him.

"And another thing," Lex said, joining Atrocitus and hearing the fight, "I have some friends with me. This is well and truly now your end, Superman."

-X-


	14. Doomslayer's Assault

Duela sat in the interrogation room, absent-mindedly looking around and occasionally picking at her fingernails. The room was quite dark, with most of the lights off, though it was nothing that fazed Duela. The life she had grown up into, the life she led, the life she was living at Arkham Asylum, nothing bothered her at ll. She had no qualms about anything. There was a split-second flash of red light and the Flash was standing before her, trying to look intimidating. Upon seeing him, Duela chuckled.

"I didn't know boys in red spandex could interrogate. You think I'll take you seriously?"

The lights flashed on, momentarily blinding Duela, but there was no mistaking Batman standing in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest. Duela pointed at him.

"I take him more seriously than you and I don't even take him seriously at all."

"Enough," Batman barked, his voice rough and intimidating, "How did you break out of Arkham? Who are you working with? What was your plan in Central City?"

Duela smirked, leaning back in her chair, despite the limitations of her handcuffs and she crossed her legs over. Batman, however, was not impressed.

"Where is the fun in telling you anything?" Duela mused, "I don't have to. There's nothing that you can to do to force me. You have nothing, no leverage, nothing more than your little goody-goody rules that won't help you. Just give up and send me to the asylum."

"Not until you tell us what we want to know," the Flash responded.

"What are you going to do if I don't? Going to beat it out of me?" Duela asked sweetly, "Like your morals would allow you to do that."

"We have all the time in the world," Batman said, "I can do this all day."

Duela's sweet, yet sinister smile grew longer, "Can you now?"

"What is that suppose to mean?" the Flash asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

-X-

Conner didn't know which way was up. His head was ringing from the number of blows he had taken, overwhelmed in the fight. Every time he tried to fight back against Doomslayer, the Red Lantern would hamper his attacks, often binding his arms to his body or hurling knife constructs to distract him. Now Lex was getting in on the act, his battle suit causing all kinds of destruction. The evacuation alarm was sounding off in the distance and employees were fleeing Lexcorp, as the company building was torn apart from the inside. Walls crumbled, ceilings caved in and expensive equipment was completely destroyed, as heat vision smashed into Lex's armoured chest and he found himself in another room.

"Right. Up the Kryptonite."

Superman smashed Atrocitus in the face with his fist and Doomslayer grabbed him by the head, before slamming him into the ground. Superman rolled over and kicked Doomslayer in the face, as a giant anvil slammed into Superman's chest, his wrists getting chained to the side. Throwing the anvil aside, Superman broke the construct, the air leaving him when Doomslayer drove his fist into his stomach. Another blow, followed by another and Superman's torso began getting pulverised, the force of each blow cracking the concrete beneath him and Superman found himself dropping to the floor below, Doomslayer falling after him, continuing his assault. Superman caught Doomslayer's fist in the midst of the attack and fired his heat vision, blasting Doomslayer away. He went to get up, but once more found chains wrapped around his body, keeping him immobile and he turned to glare at Atrocitus as best as he could, before striking the Red Lantern with his heat vision. Shattering the chains, Superman turned his attention back to Doomslayer, but the beast was resuming his attack, powerful fists literally driving Superman through the ground. The Lexcorp building began falling apart, crumbling down from the vicious battle, Doomslayer pulverising Superman deep into the Earth's crust. Lex and Atrocitus decided to join the employees and they fled the collapsing building, taking to the skies as a huge cloud of dust spread out from the destroyed corporation.

"It's a shame to see my father's legacy collapse like that, but it's a fitting headstone for Superman," Lex commented.

Concerned pedestrians stood on the sidewalks, wondering what was going on with the physical collapse of Lexcorp, dust covering the surrounding area. Those who had been paying attention knew that Superman was last seen heading towards Lexcorp and they immediately thought that some kind of battle had resulted in the building's destruction, not knowing just how close to the truth they were and they anxiously waited for their hero to rise up from the rubble. Lex and Atrocitus also patiently waited, the former hoping that his creation had succeeded where he himself had failed and if that was indeed the case, then the world was his, with no-one to stop him. No-one would ever deny him again.

Rubble slowly shifted aside and Lex watched closely with an expectant look on his face, the hungry delight in his eyes as he expected Doomslayer to rise up. Sure enough, the giant beast stood up in the centre of the debris mound, letting out a roar of victory, blood staining his spiked, cybernetic fists. The power of the roar caused people to cry out and fall to their knees, covering their ears as they waited for the roaring to stop.

"Oh, it's a good day to be an evil mastermind," Lex grinned victoriously, "One down and many more to go. Come, Atrocitus, we have a friend of yours Doomslayer has to meet."

Pressing a button on his wrist computer, Lex commanded Doomslayer to follow them and the creature left the destruction site behind, stomping down the streets and scaring the pedestrians into fleeing, those who could remember the original Doomsday's reign of terror from nearly thirty years ago quickly making their escape. Atrocitus watched Doomslayer, impressed with its mighty power and he couldn't wait to have that kind of power in his grasp. The beast quickly broke into a run in order to keep up with Lex and Atrocitus, leaving gouges in the road from his giant feet, as several people looked back at the mountain of rubble where their mightiest hero was buried.

-X-

The busy streets of Coast City made for some decent artwork and Kyle was in the midst of capturing that on his canvas using various pencils, sketching the scene to life. It was moments like this, when he could wind down and just do his passion, that Kyle enjoyed the most. Sure, he loved being a part of the Green Lanterns, but he always looked forward to the days when he could relax and not have to worry about intergalactic threats to the universe. And after a gruelling three months in space battling both Sinestro Corps and the Red Lanterns, Kyle wanted nothing more than to unwind and return to his first love. Three months away did nothing to diminish Kyle's talent, which was like riding a bike for him. Perhaps he could even make some money. That was always a bonus.

Unfortunately, his plan to sit back and sketch was interrupted by the flashing of his ring and Kyle quickly hid it from view, before packing up his belongings and heading for a deserted street. There, Kyle transformed his clothes into the Green Lantern uniform and he created a bag construct to hold his artwork in, quickly taking it to his apartment, then returning to the streets, where he found Atrocitus waiting for him in the sky.

"I've been wondering where you got to," Green Lantern said, "Are you looking for another beat down? I'm in the right mood to give one. It's my day off."

"Too bad."

A stream of corrosive blood rained down and Green Lantern shot into the sky to avoid it, creating a giant tennis racquet construct and belted Atrocitus with it. He crashed into a building wall, but pushed away in time to avoid the giant boxing glove, hurling knife constructs at Green Lantern. He blocked them with a shield, then turned the shield into a discus and hurled it, narrowly missing Atrocitus. Dodging another stream of corrosive blood, Green Lantern formed a brick wall construct behind Atrocitus and booted him straight through it, raining bricks down onto the streets below. Straightening himself, Atrocitus blocked Green Lantern's light beam with a shield construct, then shot straight for him, swiping with his deadly claws. They ripped through Green Lantern's uniform, but thankfully missed his flesh and in response, Kyle struck Atrocitus with an overhead anvil. Crashing into the road below, Atrocitus slowly got to his feet, as Green Lantern landed behind him.

"So, I was wondering why you came after me for a fight, only to run away," Green Lantern said, "But now that you're here, it doesn't really matter. I'm going to give you a hell of a beatdown, then I'm taking you to Oa for a trial."

"Is that what you think is going to happen, Green Lantern?" Atrocitus growled, "I think it's time I introduced you to a few friends I've made since we last met."

Green Lantern was suddenly hit from behind and ended up sprawled across the road, rolling over to see an armoured Lex Luthor and Doomslayer approaching him. Getting to his feet and wiping away a trickle of blood, Green Lantern sized up his new opponents, mainly keeping an eye on Doomslayer. Atrocitus took advantage of the distraction and struck Green Lantern from behind and with a command from Lex, Doomslayer slammed his giant fist into Green Lantern's face. Kyle felt as if he had been struck by a semi-trailer, but he didn't have time to counter, as Doomslayer struck him again, punching him across the street. Kyle's head swarmed with agony and darkness, threatening to tip him over into unconsciousness. He slowly got to his hands and knees, struggling to maintain consciousness, but Doomslayer pressed his large boot onto Green Lantern's back and stomped him against the road. The air left Green Lantern's lungs and he felt the darkness overtake him, slowly slipping into unconsciousness, his last view being that of Lex, Atrocitus and Doomslayer.

"Time to finish him off," Lex said.

Atrocitus, however, had other ideas, drawing out the spare, fully charged Red Lantern ring he kept on him in case of emergencies. He saw the power of Doomslayer and simply couldn't wait any longer to have that power under his control. Standing next to Doomslayer, Atrocitus took his chance and held up the ring, a smile coming to his face when the ring slipped onto Doomslayer's finger, choosing him as a new member of the Red Lanterns.

Then, all hell broke loose.

-X-


	15. Preparing to Make Amends

The first thing that happened was Doomslayer being covered in red light energy.

The next thing was Atrocitus getting his head smashed into the bitumen, the powerful blow sending the Red Lantern into darkness.

Lex was the next to be attacked, his armour shattering from the single blow and he hit the ground hard, his head bouncing off the tar and rendering him unconscious.

Rage filled Doomslayer's veins, possessing him with the desire to commit as much destruction as it would take to sate his bloodlust. Although his cybernetics tried to figure out what was going on with his body, they were quickly overridden by the power of the Red Lantern ring, turning Doomslayer into a mindless slave to rage. The memories of the original Doomsday's rampage in Metropolis were invoked and despite the rage, Doomslayer somehow knew he was in the wrong city. Not that it mattered, because everything was going to burn to the ground. There would be nothing left in his wake and utilising the ring's power, Doomslayer unleashed a stream of corrosive blood onto a nearby building, causing it to slowly fall apart, until he smashed his way through it, bringing it crumbling down. People ran screaming, their cries of terror inciting Doomslayer's instinctive desire for destruction and he fired twin lasers from his eyes, sweeping it through several buildings at once, a cloud of dust sweeping out from the collapsing buildings. Lifting up a nearby car, Doomslayer hurled it after the fleeing citizens, crushing several of them beneath its weight. Their deaths gave him great delight and he sought to create further deaths, his need to destroy the only important thing for him. The citizens were his prey, the city his hunting grounds and he proceeded to tear the city apart as he sought out Metropolis, guided by the memories of his source material. Green Lantern, Lex and Atrocitus were all in a heap together, unconscious and unable to stop Doomslayer's rampage, while Waller was watching the destruction unfold thanks to a small recording device she had sent with Lex and upon seeing Doomslayer begin his rampage, she shook her head in horror, because this was not what she wanted to happen.

"Lex, you fool, what have you done?" Waller asked herself.

-X-

"Who hired you?!" Flash demanded.

Duela yawned, as if she was bored by the whole thing, "Try a different angle, Sparky. You might enjoy it."

Flash frowned and glanced at Batman, who did the 'crazy' sign to help explain her demeanour. They had been 'interrogating' Duela for the past few hours and they were still nowhere nearer to getting any answers out of her. She had enjoyed teasing them as night slowly approached, knowing they couldn't get anything from her. Batman was just starting to lose his patience and was even tempted to call in Helena, but he hadn't heard back from her in regards to Lobo, hoping that she could sort out her differences with Wonder Woman, which wouldn't be easy since Wonder Woman took arrogance to a whole new level.

"So, do you give up yet?" Duela asked, "I have better things to do than sit around and listen to you two twittering like angry birds all night."

Before either hero could reply, a police officer poked his head inside.

"You guys might want to come and see this."

After making sure Duela was tightly secured, Batman and Flash followed the officer out to the bullpen, where the hologram screen was showcasing a news report of the streets of Metropolis, where a giant creature made of flesh, rocks and cybernetic parts was currently rampaging, hurling cars like they were tin cans, destroying the surrounding area, levelling buildings with his mighty strength. The reporter spoke of how there was no signs of Superman anywhere, who was last seen heading towards Lexcorp from where the creature emerged. There was also the story of the creature being spotted in Coast City, easily defeating Green Lantern. Flash felt a pang of despair when he heard that his friend had been taken out by the beast and he almost charged from the precinct in order to face Doomslayer by himself. That was his impulsive plan until Batman's voice stopped him.

"Flash, wait. We don't know anything about this creature. We should contact Wonder Woman and the Huntress, wait for them."

"You really think Wonder Woman's gonna work with us on this?" Flash said, "I don't know if you've noticed, Batman, but she's not a team player."

He was gone from the station in an eye blink and Batman growled in annoyance, before attempting to contact Wonder Woman or Huntress. Meanwhile, the Flash arrived in Coast City, racing around until he came across the unconscious forms of Lex, Atrocitus and Kyle, but it was the latter that Flash cared about and he dropped beside his friend, gently lifting him up, seeing the blood running down his face.

"Kyle, man, come on, wake up. Wake up," Bart cried, "You're not quitting on me."

Kyle didn't respond, his breathing shallow and Flash knew he had to get his friend to somewhere safe. Carefully holding Kyle, the Flash raced to his apartment, using his speed to become intangible and phase through the door. Laying his friend on the couch, Flash sped around the apartment, gathering things to make sure that Kyle would be fine until he woke up, even placing his Lantern Battery on the coffee table for him and cleaning up the blood.

"Don't worry, Kyle, I'll get this guy for you. I'll sort him out," the Flash said.

Within a minute, he was in Metropolis and instantly saw the carnage Doomslayer had reaped, the sheer chaos making him to drop his jaw in surprise. Screams and sirens echoed in the distance as buildings burned to the ground and without a moment's hesitation, the Flash was off, streaking down the streets at the speed of light, until he found what he was looking for. Fires burned in nearby buildings, people ran screaming, as Doomslayer roared while lifting up a truck and hurled it down the street. In the short amount of time since the ring was put onto his finger, Doomslayer had almost demolished nearly half of Metropolis.

"Yeah, I'm here for you," Flash said.

He raced at Doomslayer and struck him in the jaw, but it felt like he had broken his hand, pain pulsating through his fist. The sudden pain brought Flash to a stop near Doomslayer, who proceeded to swing his fist. Neatly dodging out of the way, Flash avoided the next punch, blitzing to across the street and hefting up a broken fire hydrant, then raced at Doomslayer, intending to bury the hydrant into the creature's face. Unfortunately, Doomslayer was surprisingly faster, catching Flash with a backhand that sent him flying through the air. The only thing that went through Flash's mind before he blacked out was _'he actually hit me?!"_

-X-

With a groan, his head protesting in pain, Roy slowly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, before seeing he was locked inside a cell. Sitting upright, despite the protesting pain, Roy found that he wasn't dreaming, that he actually was inside the Watchtower's jail. And after what he'd done, Roy felt he didn't deserve any better. He had betrayed the Justice League and now Lobo was free, thanks to him and no doubt causing all sorts of problems. Obviously, it was Batman who had locked Roy in here, but he had to be in a hurry, because he forgot to check Roy's body. Removing the lock pick from his boot, Roy fitted it into the lock, careful to not touch the electrified bars and he began jiggling the lock. However, once he had the door open, he paused, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Even though his entire life was mostly based off the wrong decisions, Roy felt that he should remain in jail and wait for the Justice League to return to decide his fate. And if it was exile, then so be it. Roy felt that he didn't deserve to be part of the team anymore and felt that he had disgraced his mentor. As he stood there and mulled his decision over, he heard the warning alarm suddenly sound and without a moment's thought, Roy rushed out, seeing the red lights flashing across the computer screen, as it zoomed in on Metropolis. A video feed came up, thanks to the satellite and Roy saw the giant beast levelling the city around him, as a DNA scan appeared, stating that the creature had strands of Kryptonian DNA that could be traced back to something called Doomsday. A portrait of each League member appeared, with Superman and Green Lantern's portraits blacked out, as if they were unavailable. Wonder Woman and the Huntress were located somewhere near the Arctic, while Batman and the Flash were in Central City. Just then, the Flash's portrait blacked out, putting his position in Metropolis and Roy had a feeling he'd just been defeated by this 'Doomsday' creature.

He saw the destruction being wrought and he knew he had to do something. He couldn't sit up here in the Watchtower as people died and so he began playing with the computer, trying to work out the teleporter. Once he worked it out (and where it was located), Roy locked in the co-ordinates for Star City and set the teleporter, then made his way to the device, heart hammering in his chest for what he was about to do. If Doomsday was fast enough to take out the Flash, then Roy was going to rely on every trick he'd ever learnt to fight the creature and he would fight even if it meant his death. For betraying the Justice League, he owed them at least that. To show them that he wasn't exactly a bad guy. He was just someone caught up in the wrong stuff. Stepping onto the pad, Roy took a deep breath as the teleporter hummed to life, the whirring getting louder until there was a flash of light and he was suddenly standing in the middle of his apartment, slowly letting his breath out.

"Wow, that actually worked," Roy commented to himself.

Spotting his bow and quivers, remembering what he had to do, Roy steeled his mind for the job ahead and proceeded to get ready for what could be his last night on earth.

-X-


	16. The Fortress of Solitude

A fortress made of ice and crystal, truly a sight to behold and Helena's jaw dropped at the absolute beauty of it. The description Conner had told her didn't do it justice, as she engaged the landing gear and touched down on the snow, before getting out for a better look. Thankfully, her suit was insulated against cold temperatures, but she barely noticed it as she looked upon the Fortress of Solitude.

"Yeah, it looks impressive," Lara said, carrying the frozen Lobo, "Wait until you see inside."

"What, really?" Helena said, "You're going to let me enter your home away from home? Not even Conner offered to let me see inside."

"Yeah, well, I don't care what Conner thinks. So you coming in or what?"

Helena hurried after Wonder Woman, approaching the steel vault doors, which opened automatically, but upon entering the Fortress, Helena found herself confronted with numerous Kryptonian weaponry, all poised to shoot her and where even preparing to do so. However, with a wave of Lara's hand, the weapons melted back into the walls.

"Nice defence system," Helena commented.

"Don't worry about it. You're new and it was just defending the place," Lara explained.

She led the way towards the main room, which dropped Helena's jaw in amazement and she stood there, turning around on the spot and taking in the beauty and alien technology that was the Fortress. Meanwhile, Lara headed for the dungeons where she placed the frozen Lobo in a tightly secured cell that would also maintain the cold temperatures to keep the bounty hunter frozen. Satisfied, she returned to the main room, finding Helena still looking around. For the Huntress, she wasn't sure if even her father got to enter the Fortress' chambers, despite his friendship with Lara's father, and she felt somewhat honoured. She knew about the Fortress from Conner and words alone couldn't describe its magnificence.

"So, I have a feeling I know why Batman sent you after Lobo as well," Lara said, crossing her arms over her chest, "Is it because we don't get along?"

"More or less," Helena replied.

Lara was about to reply, when the computer screen started flashing deep red, an alarm ringing out and she snapped her fingers, bringing up a scene from Metropolis. Surprised by the destruction weaved through the streets of her home city, she approached the computer, joined by Helena and listened to the reports flowing in of a monster on a rampage. The destruction was unbelievable, there was not a single sign of Superman anywhere, since he was reportedly missing and it was just down to the authorities to try and stop the creature's path of destruction, but their attempts were in vain. The computer came back with a DNA result, stating Doomsday as the creature's source material. At the sight of the name, Lara's demeanour changed. This beast was related to the creature responsible for killing her father and it was lucky that Clark later returned to life, otherwise Lara wouldn't be here today. Doomsday hadn't been seen since the rematch, but if this creature was indeed related to Doomsday, then Lara was going to at least fulfil her revenge in some way. She was confident that her Kryptonian and Amazonian heritage would give her the edge over this Doomsday clone, considering that she was stronger than her father. She wasn't thinking much about Conner, apart from the fact that she was going to rip this creature apart if it had done something to her cousin. Without a word, Lara turned away and began walking towards the exit.

"Lara, wait," Helena cried, "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're going back to Gotham and stay out of this one," Lara replied, "This is one fight you can't be a part of. This is personal."

"All the same, I'm coming with. I'll be your back-up."

"I don't need back-up."

"Sure. Just like you didn't need back-up against Lobo."

Lara glared, but Helena held her gaze, unafraid of her.

"I got careless. It won't happen here. Lobo is nothing compared to this."

"If that's the case, then at least let me help. Besides, if you say no, I'll be there anyway."

Lara sighed and rolled her eyes, "Fine, whatever. Your funeral. I'm going home first and I'll meet you there."

Without waiting for a reply, she shot off into the sky, as Helena entered her jet and began the flight home to Gotham, knowing she was going to need everything she had if she wanted to help make a difference.

"Helena, Lara, do you copy?" came Terry's voice over the radio.

"I copy," Helena replied.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to get worried."

"That's nice to hear, but listen, Terry, there's a problem in Metropolis and-"

"I know. That's why I was calling you. The rest of the League is down. It's just us. And Lara if she is willing to help. We have to do something to stop that beast."

"Meet me at Wayne Enterprises. I have a feeling that suit is going to come in handy."

"But that's only meant to be used for against Lara or Conner."

"Just do it. It's the only offensive weapon we have and we'll need it to fight Doomsday."

"Fine. I'll be there. Should we get the others? Damian and Tim?"

"No," Helena replied, "Leave them out of this. It'll be too much for them. I'm not risking my brother. See you soon."

She hung up before he could reply, her mind on the battle ahead.

-X-

Meanwhile, Lara arrived at her home in Smallville, where she was intending to gather a few items for the battle, only to find her father about to leave the house in his Superman suit, her mother by his side and Lara landed before them.

"Lara, thank goodness you're alright," Diana cried, "After what we saw on the news and we've haven't heard anything from Conner, we feared the worst for you."

"Dad, what are you doing?" Lara asked.

"I'm going out to fight Doomsday," Clark replied, "I'm the only one who can."

"Dad, this Doomsday is different. You died the first time you fought the original and barely beat him the second time around. Let me fight him. I'm stronger than you."

"Out of the question. I will not let you fight him alone. No, I will go with you."

"No, stay here," Lara shot back, "I need to do this."

"Lara, I know your heritage makes you the strongest being on the planet, but don't let it get to your head," Diana said, "Arrogance never wins battles. You know this."

"I'm not being arrogant, I'm stating the truth. Besides, I'm twenty-five, not twelve. You have to stop treating me like a child. I can do this, you know I can," Lara said, "Just please, let me do this. If you feel like you need to come in, do so, but only if it's absolutely, absolutely dire. This is the first time my abilities will be really tested. Who knows what I can really do. I could probably do this. But to do that, I need you to stay here."

Clark looked like he wanted to argue the point, but Diana placed a hand on his arm to calm him and he looked at her in confusion, a questioning look on his face. She understood her daughter's need to grow up without her parents constantly watching her and she also knew about Lara's reservations towards humans because of their fear of her powers. If she were to save them from Doomsday, then perhaps they would be more open towards her.

"You're asking us to do a very difficult thing," Diana said, "Your life could be at stake here, Lara. I know you're tough, but even you have your limits. We just don't know what they are yet."

"Let's hope we never find out," Lara replied.

"Diana, you can't seriously be thinking this-" Clark started, but he was cut off.

"Hush. She needs this, Clark. Let her do it. She is an adult and an Amazon."

Clark wanted to argue further, but he sighed at his wife's look and gave in.

"Alright," he said, turning to his daughter, "What do you need?"

-X-

Helena strode into the R&D department, her mind set on only one thing, as Terry swept in behind her, going to the cabinets and began pulling out the numerous tools and weaponry he would need. Helena entered the code, watching as the armoured suit rose up before her and she slipped into it, hoping that she wouldn't have to put it to use, while simultaneously admiring Terry's craftsmanship. It was indeed flexible and lightweight. Once she was ready, she joined Terry by the weapons, selecting her own tools.

"Are you sure about this, Helena?" Terry asked, "You think we can do this?"

"If you're unsure, you might as well stay behind," Helena said."

He nodded in agreement, "Very well. Do you have a plan in mind?"

"Wonder Woman is our main weapon. We provide as much help as we can without getting wiped out. Air support. The Batwing has the right artillery?"

"I don't know about right, but it should be enough."

His nano-suit was folding away from his skin so he could add his paraphilia to his body and the nanotechnology would melt back over it, appearing skin-tight as ever.

"Ready to go?" Terry asked.

"Let's go," Helena replied.

Adjusting her mask, she followed Terry to the rooftop where the Batwing waited and they climbed aboard with Terry in the cockpit and Helena in the co-pilot's seat behind him. With a roar of the engines, the Batwing blasted off towards Metropolis and Helena spoke a small prayer under her breath, then crossed herself, praying that they would come out of this alive. She caught a glimpse of red and blue out in the night sky, recognising it as Wonder Woman and some of the tension eased from her body. For once in her life, Helena was afraid, but as her father taught her, she buried the fear, determined to end the threat, no matter the cost.

Even if that did end up being her own life.

-X-


	17. Wonder Woman vs Doomslayer

She didn't need to watch the news to hear the screams. She could hear them quite perfectly. Lois sat on the couch, her body trembling as she listened to the explosions, screams and roars, her worst nightmare returning after nearly thirty years. The day Superman died was one she remembered all too clearly, one that she would never forget and now it was happening all over again. And just like before, the current Superman, the clone that was like a son to her, was missing in action, but she tried not to fear the worst for him. He was the product of Clark's and her DNA (as well as Lex Luthor Senior, but Lois always ignored that part), so she knew that Conner had to be okay. He wasn't dead. There was no way he was dead. Lois refused to believe it, but she couldn't help the tears of fear as she listened to the horror happening in her home city, her nightmares resurfacing. She turned the television on with a snap of her trembling fingers, watching the silent news as they reported on the devastation happening in Metropolis and she prayed for Conner, Clark or someone to come and save them.

Then, she caught sight of someone in red and blue, as well as a bat-shaped jet fighter shooting across the night sky and her hope began to rise.

-X-

The devastation was unbelievable, but it just made Lara all the more determined to put an end to Doomsday's reign of terror. She wore a sword and shield on her back, forged by her uncle Hephaestus and created to be able to slice through anything with the sword and the shield to be unbreakable. Her electrified whip rested on her hip, the Batwing flying behind her as she shot down towards Glenmorgan Square where the action was happening.

Doomslayer lifted up a fire engine truck and hurled it at the nearest screaming civilians, the bullets of the police officers bouncing off his thick hide. However, before the truck could land on his victims, something fast swooped in and easily caught the truck, setting it aside gently. Doomslayer growled, his cybernetics trying to run a scan on the intruder, but with the Red Lantern ring's power corrupting his systems, he found he just wanted to tear her apart. Wonder Woman smirked and motioned to Doomslayer, who charged at her and she flew at him, her fist smashing into his face. The blow rocked Doomslayer and he took a step back, as Wonder Woman followed up with her knee to his jaw. His fist lashed out, but Wonder Woman blocked the move, except that his other fist snapped out and slammed into her face. Flying back, Wonder Woman landed on her feet, drawing her sword and shield, then smacked Doomslayer's fist aside and sliced. The wound instantly healed and Doomslayer regurgitated a stream of corrosive blood from his mouth, forcing Wonder Woman to use her shield to protect herself. Belting his fist aside again, Wonder Woman cut him on his leg, and then smashed him across the face, before stabbing. However, Doomslayer caught the blade, lasers firing from his eyes and Wonder Woman blocked with her shield in time, a building crumbling due to the ricochet. The Batwing hovered overhead, ready to provide back-up if needed, while Helena was chewing her bottom lip with anxiety. She knew Lara was impressively strong, she just hoped that it would be enough.

Utilising his thick, dangerous spikes, Doomslayer deflected Wonder Woman's sword and struck her in the face, but she threw her shield into his face, and then leapt up with her sword aimed for his head. He struck her with lasers and she slid along the road, creating a trench with her body. Acting on instinct, Batman fired a missile at Doomslayer, but the only thing it did was attract his attention and now Doomslayer was charging straight at them. Batman piloted the Batwing out of the way as Huntress fired another missile to deter Doomslayer, but he was still coming, only stopped when Wonder Woman appeared, her fist slamming into the creature's chest. Doomslayer brought his fists down overhead, which Wonder Woman caught with her gauntlets and she shoved his arms aside, unleashing a blast of heat vision that had Doomslayer smashing through the side of one building and out the other. Unfazed by the blow, Doomslayer got up, as Wonder Woman unfurled her whip and flew at him, ensnaring him around the throat. With a grunt, she yanked him through the air and delivered a well-aimed kick that literally buried Doomslayer beneath the road and she flew after him into the sewers. She deflected a stream of corrosive blood with her gauntlets, then shot at Doomslayer, but he reacted faster, slamming her into the wall of the sewers. Dodging his meaty and spiked fist, Wonder Woman drove an uppercut into his jaw, the force of her powerful blow returning him to the surface and before he had even landed, she already had her whip around his neck once more. Growling, Doomslayer grabbed hold of the whip and pulled Wonder Woman close, but she kicked him in the face. However, he caught her ankle and slammed her into the ground, then to her surprise, breathed flames upon her. Reacting quickly, Wonder Woman froze the flames with her breath, extending it towards Doomslayer, hoping to encase him in ice.

His hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air and he drove a fist into her stomach, trying to strangle her. Batman shot overhead and Huntress let loose another missile that exploded upon Doomslayer's back, drawing his attention and he fired lasers from his eyes, narrowly missing the Batwing, but the distraction gave Wonder Woman the chance to hit Doomslayer with her heat vision, breaking free of his grip and she slugged him in the face. Evading his retaliation blow, Wonder Woman slugged him again, the force of her blows rocking the foundations of the surrounding buildings and threatening to send them crumbling to the ground. She was putting everything she had into each blow, hoping that her immense strength would be enough to wear Doomslayer down, but his speed matched hers and he caught her fist within his own large one, twisting it enough so that it started to cause her pain. His other fist slammed into her jaw and blood flew from her mouth, causing Lara's eyes to widen in surprise when she saw it. Never in her life had someone been able to draw blood from her, so this was a first for her. Now she had an idea about Doomslayer's strength and for the first time, Lara was actually worried about the fight. She knew that it wasn't going to be as simple as she thought it would be. Her distraction cost her when Doomslayer belted her across the street with a backhand and Batman flew in, unleashing the Batwing's chain-guns.

Ignoring Wonder Woman and the bullets, Doomslayer instead focused on the Batwing and charged towards it, but Wonder Woman spear-tackled him from behind, driving him through a building. Twisting in her arms, Doomslayer grabbed her by her hair and planted his feet on the ground, then used his powerful muscles to leap straight through the roof of the building and smashing Wonder Woman through the roof of another building, the pair falling through several floors until they hit the bottom, the building falling apart around them.

"Come on, Lara, hang in there," Helena muttered, "You can do this."

"She'll be fine," Terry said, "Kryptonian-Amazon hybrid. Pretty hard to knock around."

"We're hoping that's the case."

Heat vision lanced the night sky, missing Doomslayer due to his fast reflexes and he slugged Wonder Woman in the face, dropping her to her knees. Wiping the blood away, Wonder Woman dodged Doomslayer's fists smashing the bitumen, then flew at him, landing earth-shattering blows at the speed of light, breaking the sound barrier with each punch. She then landed an uppercut that launched Doomslayer into the sky, flying past the Batwing and Wonder Woman chased him, clasping her hands together and landing a hammer swing that rocketed Doomslayer straight through a building rooftop, another victim of the destruction wrought by their titanic battle. Flying towards the crater, Wonder Woman was struck by a pair of green lasers and she smashed through the windows of an apartment block, flying out through the other side and landing on the road below. Doomslayer clawed out of the crater he made with his body, sniffing the air in search of his opponent.

"Now!" Terry cried.

Helena fired every single missile they had in their reserves, while Batman blasted away with the chain-guns, hoping to overwhelm Doomslayer with sheer firepower. The beast roared and leapt up from the explosive rain, the Batwing his target, but something wrapped around his heel and pulled him to the ground. Rolling up her whip, Wonder Woman picked up her sword and shield, then flew at Doomslayer as he was getting to his feet. He whirled around, his fist aimed for her face, but she brought up her shield in time, the impact creating a shockwave that swept through the surrounding area, hurling anything that wasn't pinned down. Striking Doomslayer with her shield, Wonder Woman impaled him in the ribs, then performed a spinning slash across his face. Both wounds healed, as Doomslayer dodged the blade and caught Wonder Woman's arm, then slammed her into the ground. Grabbing hold of a nearby wrecked car, Doomslayer caught Wonder Woman across her temple with the vehicle's bumper, then smashed it upon her fallen body. When the car remained in place, Doomslayer roared triumphantly, while Terry and Helena looked on in horror. Their only hope in defeating Doomslayer was now out of action, which meant only one thing.

"Terry, open the hatch," Helena said, "Put me down."

"What, are you insane?" Terry demanded, "There is no way you can fight that thing on your own, Helena. Not happening."

"What would you rather do? Go back home and reload the jet before coming back here. Who knows what would happen in that time. I just need to buy some time for Lara to wake up."

Terry bit his lower lip, not liking this idea at all, "Fine. I may have some reserve weapons."

Doomslayer was walking away from where he left Wonder Woman, intent on continuing his reign of chaos, when the Batwing hovered nearby and the hatch opened. The Huntress climbed out of the cockpit, took one last look at Batman, and then dropped from the jet, spreading her cape out so she could glide to the road comfortably, ready to face the beast.

-X-


	18. Doomslayer vs the Huntress

From the safety of her secret compound, Amanda Waller watched via satellite the devastation wrought by Doomslayer and his subsequent clash with Wonder Woman that caused as much destruction as Doomslayer did on his own. She shook her head while watching the fight, annoyed and frustrated with Lex that, just like his father, he had failed to deliver like he promised. Sure, her intent was to keep the superhero population under control with Doomslayer and not put humans in the line of fire, but now the creature had broken free of Lex's control, with no doubt that Atrocitus had a hand in it, if Doomslayer's new ability to create streams of corrosive blood was anything to go by. Already, Waller had her people going through files and erasing anything that could be tied back to either her or the company. She may have had a hand in all this, but she refused to go down for Lex's carelessness. And even if Lex did try to name her as his accomplice during court proceedings, Waller had several lawyers who would enable her to get away without any charges being laid against her.

That was, of course, if Doomslayer was stopped from his rampage.

-X-

It had been a relative pleasant day for Jason, despite being in jail. For once, no-one was looking to pick a fight with him, which meant they had finally learnt he was not some gung-ho killer who could be trifled with. Also, he was getting sick of being shoved into solitary confinement, even if it was the only place where he got some peace. But that aside, Jason had enjoyed today, working out in the gym, going for a few laps around the courtyard and generally being left alone, which he preferred. Then, he was in the mess hall for dinner and just happened to be watching the news, witnessing the chaos that had suddenly erupted in Metropolis. The breaking news broadcast had everyone's attentions, from the hardened criminals to the security guards and they all watched, raptured at the footage of Doomslayer wreaking destruction upon the city. Jason watched intently, his focus completely on the news and he sighed with despair when he heard that Superman was missing in action. There was a call for a public evacuation and people were fleeing their homes, trying to find some kind of safety from Doomslayer's rage. Then, he saw Wonder Woman flying to the rescue, engaging in a violent battle with Doomslayer and Jason found himself impressed with her strength, as she belted the beast around, although not without receiving some blows herself. However, Wonder Woman wasn't alone and Jason held his breath when he saw the Batwing, knowing very well who was in that jet. For thirty minutes, Wonder Woman battled Doomslayer, until he got the drop on her, burying her beneath a car and resuming his demolition of Metropolis. That was until Jason watched the Huntress drop from the Batwing to confront the beast and his heart literally stopped for a moment, worry coursing through him and he prayed to whatever deity who would listen to him.

_"Don't die, Helena. Whatever you do, don't be stupid and die."_

-X-

Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard, she was sure that Gotham City could hear it. Her throat was dry as the full weight of what she was about to do hit her, but she resolved herself to stand strong. She needed to get her fear under control and focus on what she had to do: buy some time for Wonder Woman to recover. Helena knew that Lara was only temporarily down and once she woke up, the fight would be able to resume. But for now, it was all on Helena and she was running numerous scenarios through her mind on how she was going to tackle the situation. Unfortunately, she didn't get long to ponder, as Doomslayer apparently had enough of the Batwing and picked up Wonder Woman's sword, then hurled it like a spear. It sliced through one of the wings and Terry fought to control the jet as it spiralled downwards.

"No," Helena breathed.

The Batwing crashed onto the road behind Doomslayer, but she caught a glimpse of red and she sighed with relief when Batman glided to safety atop a surviving rooftop. Turning back to Doomslayer, the Huntress unfolded her crossbow, then fired, the arrow bouncing off Doomslayer's chest, but the explosion that followed was enough to catch his attention. With a roar, he charged at the Huntress, as she quickly engaged the protective shield and drew her grappling gun, firing over Doomslayer's shoulder. Zipping past the creature, the Huntress fired another arrow into his open mouth, stalling him with a second explosion. Landing with both feet firmly on the ground, Helena breathed heavily, trying to figure out her next plan of attack, or in this case, defence. She knew what Doomslayer was capable of and the last thing she wanted to do was get hit, even if she was protected against strength like his. She simply didn't want to risk it. Utilising another weapon in her arsenal, Huntress activated combat mode, a protective mask sliding across her lower face and extendable blades slid from her gauntlets, covered by glowing red light not unlike red solar energy that proved to be effective against Kryptonians. If Doomslayer indeed had Kryptonian DNA like the original Doomsday, then perhaps the red solar energy might be able to sap his powers and give her a bit of an edge. Meanwhile, Batman fired his grenade gun from the rooftop, before having to run when Doomslayer leapt up at him, demolishing the rooftop in the process. Throwing out a smoke bomb, Batman then grappled to another rooftop, but Doomslayer landed behind him and tossed him to the road below, his suit protecting him from the damaging fall.

Seizing her chance, the Huntress charged and sliced Doomslayer across the back, but despite the force she put behind the slash, it only caused a slight scratch, but it caught his attention and he whirled around, his large fist narrowly missing her head. Her heart pounded harder than before at that near miss, threatening to burst out of her chest and sprint away, but the Huntress held her resolve, slashing again. This time, however, Doomslayer countered and slammed his fist into the Huntress' body, the impact throwing her off her feet. Thankfully, the shield protected her from the blow, but she still felt breathless when she slammed against the road and she quickly checked the power gauge for the shield. Unfortunately, it had used all its power to absorb the impact and now it was running on near-empty. Slowly getting to her feet, the Huntress snapped her crossbow, firing off an explosive arrow that Doomslayer ignored as he slowly approached her, a menacing grin on his face. Batman was slowly coming to, staggering to his feet as the Huntress continued to back away from Doomslayer. She needed just a little more time, the car that buried Wonder Woman was even starting to move-

Doomslayer's fist lashed out and the Huntress rolled to her right, flicking out a batarang that was more like an irritation than anything else and she engaged the blades again, slashing at Doomslayer when he punched again. The blade was snapped clean off and the Huntress was caught with a glancing backhand that deposited her awkwardly upon a broken car. She coughed up blood, unable to do anything as Doomslayer raised a fist over her, ready to bring it crashing down and pulverise her skull. Time seemed to move so slowly as the fist was driven towards her head, the car moving out the corner of Helena's eye, but she already knew that Lara was going to be too late. She closed her eyes, mentally saying a goodbye to her parents and brother-

There was a flash of green light and Doomslayer was struck from the side by a bullet train that dragged him along the streets of Metropolis and the Huntress opened her eyes to see Green Lantern floating before her, a smile on his face as he helped her up from the broken car, mindful of her injuries.

"Kyle, where – where did you come from?" Helena asked, surprised by his presence.

"Just in the nick of time," Kyle replied, "I woke up at home and remembered when this guy jumped me, so I hope you don't mind if I return the favour."

"No, by all means, go right ahead."

Green Lantern smirked and flew at Doomslayer, a giant fist of bricks appearing to smash into the creature's face, the bricks shattering upon impact. The car went flying and Wonder Woman stood up, whip in hand and a pissed-off expression on her face, as Doomslayer struck Green Lantern, but there was a flash of red and the Flash caught Green Lantern before he struck the ground. Snarling, Doomslayer stepped forth, but an arrow bounced off his chest before exploding, except that it hadn't come from Huntress, but rather Arsenal standing atop a nearby rooftop and he waved at the group. Doomslayer lunged for him, only for Wonder Woman to intercept, the pair slamming into the ground and Doomslayer threw her aside with a backhand, receiving a blast of heat vision in return.

"We're all here together," Batman said in awe as he joined the Huntress, "The Justice League. All but one."

As if to answer his thoughts, halfway across Metropolis where Lexcorp used to reside, a fist smashed up from within the debris and Superman pulled himself free of the ruins, his armour stitching itself back together following Doomslayer's assault and with his heightened senses, he could hear the battle raging on. The city was in ruins from Doomslayer's rampage, something that Superman resolved to stop and rising up into the night sky, his red cape flowing out around him, he shot through the air, easily finding the fight he was looking for. Flying down, Superman landed in the middle of the street and slowly straightened, drawing the attention of his fellow Justice Leaguers, as well as that of Lois, who was still watching the news report covering the major event of the Justice League coming together.

"I knew he wasn't gone," she whispered to herself, having never doubted him.

"There you go, Terry," Huntress said, "Now everyone is here."

"Doomsday, Doomslayer, whatever you're called, it doesn't matter," Superman said, "Your reign of destruction comes to an end. You're facing the full force of the Justice League now."

"I will destroy you all!" Doomslayer roared in defiance.

"Good luck to you."

Then, he flew straight at Doomslayer and slugged him right in his ugly face.

-X-


	19. The Justice League

Doomslayer swung his mighty fist, but Superman stopped the swing and flicked the beast in the face, using his tactile telekinesis to send him hurling across the streets. Wonder Woman smashed her elbow into Doomslayer's face, but he caught her next swing and threw her aside, then caught Superman in the chest with a stream of corrosive blood. When Superman went down, Doomslayer raised his fists, only to get hammered by bullets made of green hard-light. Whirling around towards Green Lantern, Doomslayer charged at him, but Green Lantern struck him with a giant hammer construct, then crushed the beast between constructs of two buses. Undeterred, Doomslayer leapt and swiped, bowling Green Lantern into the path of a van, but he was saved from the impact by the arrival of the Flash.

"Thanks, Bart," Kyle said.

"Anything for a friend," Bart smirked.

He sped for Doomslayer and began running circles around him at light speed, creating a whirlwind that lifted the beast up and allowing Superman to slam into him from behind. The pair disconnected from each other when they hit the ground and Doomslayer fired lasers from his eyes, only to be countered by Superman's heat vision and Wonder Woman joined in, directing her heat vision into Doomslayer's chest. Arsenal fired two arrows at once that were connected by a wire, which hooked Doomslayer around the neck, the arrows impaling into the ground after crossing over each other. Green Lantern joined Arsenal on the roof and created a longbow construct, as fifty elven archers also came to life, unleashing a hailstorm of explosive arrows that distracted Doomslayer, allowing Superman and Wonder Woman to blast him away, the wired arrows quickly hooking Doomslayer to the ground.

"Come on, Terry, we've got to do something," Huntress said.

"Like what?" Batman wondered, "They've got it under control."

He suddenly had to avoid Superman barrelling him over after being thrown by Doomslayer and the Man of Steel shot back at his opponent, as Huntress gave Batman a look. He ignored her, knowing what her look was saying and he collected his fallen grenade gun, as the Huntress fitted an explosive arrow onto her crossbow. Doomslayer grabbed a truck and caught Wonder Woman with it and went to throw it at her, but Superman caused it to explode with his heat vision, but Doomslayer was unharmed and fired lasers at the Flash. However, when he dodged them, they arced back around and shot for him again, prompting him to race off with the lasers closely chasing him. He shook his head in annoyance that no matter how many twists and turns he took throughout Metropolis to try and shake the lasers, they kept onto him, threatening to inch closer with every step he took.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bart muttered to himself.

Struck by a sudden idea, he returned to the battlefield and using his ability to become intangible, he vibrated right through Doomslayer, surprising the beast, as the lasers slammed into their creator, causing a small explosion and pleased with his victory, the Flash sped off again, this time running around the entire planet several times, returning to Metropolis and punching Doomslayer. The force generated by his speed was enough to stagger Doomslayer and Wonder Woman struck with her whip, electrified cuts appearing on Doomslayer's body from the strikes, but the wounds healed up and he charged at Wonder Woman in response. She used her frost breath to counter his corrosive blood stream, as the Huntress came running in and buried her gauntlet blade into Doomslayer's ribs, giving Wonder Woman the upper hand in freezing him solid. Unlike Lobo, the ice didn't contain Doomslayer for long, shattering due to his strength and he swung at the Huntress, but Wonder Woman tackled her out of the way, as Batman fired his grenade gun and Superman returned to the fight, having been punched underground.

"Are you crazy?" Wonder Woman demanded, "You trying to get yourself killed?"

"How about we discuss this when we're not fighting for our lives?" Huntress suggested.

Wonder Woman was about to argue back, but instead pulled the Huntress to the ground to avoid a car bonnet that would have decapitated her and the Huntress fired her crossbow, the arrow exploding from within Doomslayer's mouth, although it didn't harm him.

"I'm not going to sit back and watch everyone fight when I can help," Huntress said.

"Fine. Just don't get killed," Wonder Woman said, before flying off.

Annoyed by Arsenal's arrows, Doomslayer batted Superman aside and leapt for the archer.

"Uh, help?" Arsenal cried, backing away from the beast.

Doomslayer roared and swung, as Arsenal fired another arrow, then ran for the ledge, jumping off despite the long drop to the ground below, but Green Lantern swooped in, catching Arsenal and safely depositing him atop another rooftop.

"Thanks," Arsenal said.

"Don't mention it," Green Lantern replied.

He then flew at Doomslayer with a giant sword construct that appear to come from an old school Final Fantasy video game and after slicing Doomslayer to no affect, he came up with another construct. This one was in the shape of a sphere, with Green Lantern sitting inside the cockpit, a bar of green steel forming on the horizontal and vertical centre and turrets taking form. With a smirk, Green Lantern pulled hard on both levers, firing all sixteen turrets. The sky was alive with bright green rocket constructs as they soared towards Doomslayer, slamming into him one after the other with bright green explosions. In response, Doomslayer belched a stream of corrosive blood that Green Lantern blocked with a shield construct, but then the blood began to eat away at the shield. As he constantly reinforced the shield, Green Lantern wondered how he was going to get the Red Lantern ring off Doomslayer and he fired three rocket constructs at the beast, before taking to the skies to create an anti-aircraft turret. Superman spear-tackled Doomslayer, who hooked him around the waist and power-bombed him into the ground, then backhanded Wonder Woman, taking out several streetlights. Batman suddenly landed on Doomslayer's shoulders, slapping sticky bombs over the creature's eyes and he quickly jumped off before he was grabbed and brutalised, as the bombs exploded and Doomslayer snarled in rage, firing lasers at Batman.

The Flash whizzed past, distracting Doomslayer so Wonder Woman could pound away at him and when he belted her aside, the Flash used his ability to vibrate straight through the beast, hoping to disorient him. The idea worked for a few moments before Doomslayer got his large hand wrapped around the Flash's face, threatening to crush his skull. The Huntress came to the rescue, shooting an explosive arrow into Doomslayer's eye and the Flash vibrated through him as Superman struck him, his tactile telekinesis putting Doomslayer through a building or three, with Wonder Woman there to continue the onslaught.

"We have to end this fight. We can't do this forever," Huntress said as Green Lantern joined her.

"Well, if we remove the ring, it might reduce his rage and give us a chance to finish him," Green Lantern suggested.

"He's based off the creature that killed Lara's father. Killing him won't be easy," the Huntress said as Superman threw Doomslayer across the road. An idea suddenly came to her, "Kyle, do you know where the nearest red sun is?"

Green Lantern frowned, "I do, but what has that got to do with any of this?"

"I'll tell you."

He listened, then called over the Flash who was told the plan. Then, Bart raced about, telling everyone Helena's plan, only approaching Superman and Wonder Woman when he got the chance. When Doomslayer went to strike Superman, Green Lantern caught him with numerous chain constructs, trying to hold him in place, as Superman and Wonder Woman held his arms at bay. Arsenal fired an arrow, this one holding the ring of green kryptonite, straight into Doomslayer's open mouth and the Flash used his speed to rip the Red Lantern ring off the beast. The rage subsided, as the Huntress rammed the broken red solar blade into Doomslayer's abdomen as hard as she could, with some help from Batman. They were struggling to completely impale the blade into his body, but the Flash grabbed the blade and vibrated through Doomslayer, leaving the weapon in his body. Doomslayer roared, as Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern launched off into the sky, flying straight towards space. Doomslayer struggled against his captors, hurling them aside and then breaking the constructs, causing Green Lantern to recoil, as Superman and Wonder Woman caught the creature, combing their frost breath together to freeze Doomslayer's arms to his body. He roared, firing off lasers and attempting to use his flame breath, but the cousins held him at bay, with Green Lantern joining them and together, they flew towards the nearest red sun. along the way, the trio collected an asteroid and when they were within sight of the red sun, Superman and Wonder Woman froze Doomslayer to the asteroid, concentrating their power to make sure the beast didn't free himself.

"Okay, Green Lantern," Superman said, "It's up to you now. Wonder Woman and I have to stay here. We're not as vulnerable to the red sun as Clark is, but we're not risking it."

"Don't worry, I understand," Green Lantern said, wrapping the asteroid with a long chain construct and holding the other end to Conner, "How good is your aim?"

Superman grinned and took hold, offering the rest of the chain to Wonder Woman. With a similar smirk, she accepted the chain and with her cousin, she spun around several times like they were performing a hammer throw, hurling Doomslayer towards the red sun. Just to make sure, Green Lantern created a series of barricades similar to the pinball game, directing Doomslayer straight into the sun and they watched as the asteroid was consumed by the sun.

"It's over," Wonder Woman said.

"Come on, let's go home," Superman said, "There are a lot of things to take care of."

They turned and flew back to Earth, returning to Metropolis where the others were still waiting for them. The news crew had managed to stay alive during the entire ordeal, recording the battle and upon witnessing her genetic son's return to the city, Lois smiled to herself, proud of him like a mother would be, knowing that the world was a safer place with not just him, but the Justice League as well.

"That's my boy," Lois said.

-X-


	20. Epilogue

It was a long, anxious wait that saw the arrival of the morning sun, but when she saw three dots in the sky, one covered in green light, the Huntress smiled to herself, knowing that her plan had been successful. Superman and Green Lantern landed with a smile each, both pleased with themselves, while Wonder Woman wore her usual scowl, her arms crossed over her chest. But even her grumpy look couldn't deter Helena's spirits, proud of herself for surviving the gruelling fight and coming up with the plan to defeat Doomslayer for good. She was thankful for her paranoia, as her study of Kryptonian physiology and her combat suit were what allowed the Justice League to become triumphant.

"So, what happens now?" the Flash asked, "I mean, we won. What's next?"

Almost as if on cue, Superman heard a faint applause and he looked around, seeing the civilians of Metropolis come out to thank the heroes. He beamed to himself, looking at his fellow teammates, proud of what they had achieved. The Justice League was here to stay, thanks to the news reports covering the event and people's accounts praising their efforts, supporting the League's return. Conner didn't think it was possible, but after so long, he had succeeded in bringing the League back to life, where they belonged in watching over Earth and protecting the innocent.

-X-

"So we all agree that there is a place for the Justice League?" Conner asked, "I know I'm staying here regardless. The choice is yours."

"You know our answer," Kyle said, motioning to Bart and himself, "We're here to stay."

Conner glanced at Helena and Terry, seeing their answer in their eyes. He smiled, then looked at his cousin, who was standing nearby in her usual posture.

"Lara?"

She paused, mulling her thoughts over. Nervous was never a word used to describe Lara Kent, but that was what she was feeling right now. Until now, Lara used to think that she was the most powerful being in the universe, that no-one could match her strength. Put simply, she had never known defeat. And even though it was only temporary, she had been beaten by Doomslayer, a being that required the entire Justice League to fight against.

"I'm pretty used to being on my own, since I've never faced someone my worth before. But now I see that there are threats who can challenge me and as shown with Doomslayer, they can beat me, no matter how temporarily. A defeat is a defeat. What I'm saying, Conner, is that I'm joining the League. But, only call me if it's really dire."

"Great," Conner smiled, "Why don't you join us at the table then?"

With a small smile of her own, Lara sat in her mother's seat beside Helena.

"Now, we just have one small matter to attend to," Conner said and everyone's attention was turned towards Roy, who stood in the doorway, his wrists shackled, "What should we do with Arsenal?"

"Trust is a huge thing with this group and he betrayed that by releasing Lobo," the Flash said, "If Huntress and Wonder Woman weren't occupied with him, the destruction done to Metropolis and Coast City would've been significantly less."

"Before you decide, can I speak?" Roy asked.

"Of course," Conner replied.

"Betraying this team was something I never wanted to do. After so long, I finally get to belong somewhere and I get a chance to make my mentor proud, who was a member of the League," Roy said, "But my past was determined to never leave me alone and powerful people seized upon that, hoping to take my future away from me. However, if you feel you have to exile me, then so be it. I deserve nothing more."

At that moment, his phone rang and Terry answered the call, setting it onto speaker.

"Roy, you weren't supposed to help the League," came Amanda Waller's voice, "You were suppose to help break the team up from the inside. Well, because of your insubordination, you can kiss your freedom goodbye."

"You're the one who used Roy to infiltrate the League?" Conner cut in.

"And you are who?" Waller asked.

"This is Superman and you're talking to the Justice League. I'll have you know that Roy will have his freedom and that he does have a future. With us."

"You think I'm going to let him walk away with you?" Waller growled.

"I do, actually. If you have anything to say about it, you're welcome to say it. Whatever he's done in his past remains in the past. He's with us now and if you try anything to compromise that, you'll be facing the entire Justice League. Your choice, Miss Waller."

"This isn't over, Superman!"

"You have a nice day, Miss Waller."

Conner pressed the end button, then motioned to Terry, who handed him the keys. Roy was in a state of awe and surprise as Conner removed the handcuffs and motioned to the table.

"The way I see it, you helped us against Doomslayer, even though you could have died. You risked your life for the city," Conner said, "Forgive and forget, I say. Join us."

"I don't know what to say," Roy said as he was led to the table.

"Just promise that you'll always do what's necessary to protect the innocent," Conner replied.

"Sure. I can do that."

"So, we all agree that Arsenal is part of the Justice League?" Conner asked the others.

"Yes, he can join us," Helena said, although she silently vowed to keep an eye on Roy, having never been one to take betrayal lightly, no matter how slight the betrayal was.

-X-

"With Lex Luthor in prison and the property of Lexcorp burned to the ground, the combined forces of Wayne Enterprises, Robinson Incorporation and Queen Industries will take equal share of Lexcorp's assets. The ownership of Lexcorp has been transferred, as decreed by the court, to Terry McGinnis, leaving the position of CEO of Wayne Enterprises to Helena Wayne."

Signatures were signed on the dotted line, making the deal official and Helena gave Terry a small smile, shaking his hand in congratulations, although he did look nervous at taking over Lexcorp. They had been the biggest rival to Wayne Enterprises, but now the two companies were under the one roof. Still, considering how well he'd done with Wayne Enterprises, Helena figured that Terry would do just fine with Lexcorp.

"Lex Luthor finally got his wish," Helena said, walking over to the windows, "It just wasn't in the way he expected."

"No, not at all," Terry agreed, joining her, "Unlike him, however, I intend to do good with Lexcorp. Metropolis needs heavy infrastructure repairs and I will use every penny I have to see the city restored."

"I will do what I can," Helena said, "I want Arkham Asylum reinforced to prevent another breakout from people like Duela. I'm just thankful that we got to her in time and she's behind bars again. Going to have a chat with Mayor Sharp about that one."

"Yeah, I've heard some of his ideas," Terry said.

"You know, I was thinking on how the League is about trust. Maybe I should trust the others to not go off the deep end. So, I'm going to go and delete the files I have on them. I think they at least deserve that."

Terry nodded and patted her on the shoulder, before heading off to start his new job. Helena stood there for a moment longer. She knew he had never been comfortable with her contingency plans for the members of the Justice League, so she only said that to ease his mind. Returning to her office, Helena went through the files on her teammates, reading all their stats, before deleting them. Just because they weren't on her computer didn't mean she didn't have copies elsewhere. The contingency plans would remain, but only Helena was going to know that. As far as Terry knew, the contingency plans no longer exited and Helena was fine with keeping the plans to herself. It was the only way she could protect them.

-X-

Roars of approval and bloodlust filled the air as victory was seized in the gladiatorial games of Warworld. The ruler of this violent, apocalyptic-like world, Mongul, decided it was time for a break and retire to his chambers for a drink before the next round of death struggles began. The seven foot nine inch, five hundred plus kilo behemoth rose from his grand throne and made his way to his private chambers, servants and other beings alike scurrying out of his way, fearing his rage if they accidentally provoked him. Mongul smiled sinisterly to himself, enjoying the fear radiating from his subjects, the power that he held over them was truly addictive. He could have pretty much anything he wanted and no questions would be asked. Requesting that he was to be left in peace, Mongul entered his chambers and made for the wine cellar, which contained numerous fine alcoholic beverages from around the universe. Picking out a bottle collected from the planet Korugar, Mongul poured himself a glass, barely noticing the flash of light coming from his living quarters. It was only when he went out there to relax did he see his new visitors: the entire Justice League.

"Hello, Mongul," Superman smiled, his arms akimbo, "We're here to talk to you about that bounty you put on my head. The one that Lobo tried to collect."

"Superman. What is this pathetic little rag-tag group you've aligned yourself with?" Mongul asked.

"The Justice League," the Huntress replied, "And you're about to see we're anything but."

"Time for an ass-kicking," Wonder Woman smiled, as Green Lantern's light shone.

"Fine! Bring it!" Mongul snarled.

The Justice League went for him and the fight erupted. When it finally ended an hour later, Mongul was the only one left unconscious, later learning his lesson…temporarily.

-X-

AN: And that's the end of the story. I'd like to say thanks for the reviews and I'll see you all for the Huntress' third outing


	21. Teaser

AN: A small taste of what to expect in the _Huntress 3_, for which I'm still trying to figure out the title.

-X-

"I am proud to announce the opening of Arkham City!" Mayor Quincey Sharp announced to the crowd, before cutting the ribbon on the controversial event, "A place where the criminals can be left to their own devices, away from law-abiding citizens, with no-one but each other."

-X-

"Criminal activity is down," Damian said, "Ever since Arkham City opened, no one wants to end up there."

"It makes me wonder if there is a need for the Huntress," Helena said to herself.

-X-

"The laws of justice are shackles to those who are trying to live, no matter what they need to do to survive," Prometheus said, "And Gotham City is a beacon of justice."

-X-

"We are the Birds of Prey!" Batgirl cried, standing alongside Black Canary, Katana and Starling, "You can do it the easy way and surrender, or the hard way."

"Your funeral," Prometheus said.

-X-

"Who are you?" Black Bat asked, blood trickling from her nose and her body aching in agony from her near-death experience.

"Someone you were born to defeat," Lady Shiva replied.

"I failed there."

-X-

The police station erupted into a fiery ball, the bombs ripping it apart from the inside.

-X-

"Done. And broken," Prometheus said, booting Nightwing's broken body off the rooftop.

-X-

"Damian, don't you dare die on me!" Helena cried, holding back her tears as her brother fought for his life, doctors and nurses doing their best to keep him alive.

-X-

"In chess, the aim is to checkmate the king, even though the queen is the most powerful piece," Prometheus said to the Huntress, "In this case, Gotham in the king and you are the queen."

-X-

The Huntress swung her fist, but Prometheus parried and struck her in the torso with Nightwing's electrified fighting stick.

-X-

"This is where those who are considered criminals can prosper and be free from the laws that bind those who can't live without order," Prometheus said, "Living by no rules, living without the government enforcing their way of life upon you, is the only way to live. Welcome to Arkham City!"

-X-

"You're a fighter, Helena, you always have been," Jesse said, "You fight for what you believe in and you're passionate about it."

"Why can't we stay like this forever?" Helena wondered, holding him close

-X-

TYGER soldiers charged at the Huntress, but they were no match for her as she was able to beat them around the street, slamming the last soldier's head against the wall.

-X-

The Huntress approached the unmasked Prometheus, landing a blow to his jaw, but when she swung her other fist, he caught her in an armlock with a sinister smirk on his face.

-X-

Cassandra approached the massive oak doors, but they opened easily under her touch and she stepped inside the temple of the League of Shadows.

"Welcome home, my child."

-X-


End file.
